Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon to Merge, Shift to a 'One-Platform' System by Year-End

[Financial News] Kakao Entertainment is merging Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon. It will consolidate approximately 16,000 original story IPs and user data currently distributed across the two platforms on Kakao Page, while strengthening personalized content services powered by data and artificial intelligence (AI). The company also plans to accelerate its expansion into global markets by bringing together capabilities spanning IP discovery, production and distribution.
Kakao Entertainment announced on the 22nd that it will integrate Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon and transition to a 'one-platform' system. The company plans to provide users of both platforms with details about the integration on the 29th and complete the process by the end of the year.
Kakao Page will serve as the hub of the integrated platform. Webtoon and web novel content, along with the user bases built by Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon, will be brought together in one place. Subscription patterns and content usage data accumulated by each platform will also be integrated.
Kakao Entertainment aims to enhance both its content competitiveness and the user experience through the integration. In particular, it plans to apply AI technology to its extensive content and user data to further advance personalized services.
The integration will bring approximately 16,000 original story IPs together on Kakao Page. The companies will also combine the networks of writers and partners secured by both platforms with their IP planning and production capabilities.
The company also plans to accelerate IP expansion. It will leverage its production expertise in adapting web novels into webtoons, a format known as 'novel comics,' as well as expanding original story IPs into dramas, films, performances and games. The integration will also broaden the foundation for using user data accumulated on the platforms to discover and commercialize IPs.
In global business, Kakao Entertainment will strengthen its division of responsibilities with Kakao Piccoma. Under the strategy, Kakao Entertainment will focus on discovering and producing competitive story IP, while combining those capabilities with Kakao Piccoma's global platform expertise to expand IP in overseas markets.
The platform integration is an extension of Kakao Entertainment's ongoing reorganization of its story business. Following the recent consolidation of its story IP production subsidiaries, the company is also bringing its platforms together to streamline its business structure from production through distribution. The move is aimed at concentrating dispersed capabilities and resources, enhancing execution and strengthening the foundation for global growth.
A Kakao Entertainment representative said, "We will fully accelerate our global growth drive by strengthening the fundamentals of our business as a whole."


[email protected] Choi Hye-rim Reporter