More developments with the new Korean drama streaming platform KOCOWA! It has now been announced that Viki has partnered with KOCOWA to offer a new subscription option called Viki Pass Plus. This new option grants access to KOCOWA exclusive content in the Americas.
Viki now has two subscription levels:
Viki Pass Standard: $4.99 month or $49.99 year
Viki Pass Plus: $9.99 month or $99.99 year (there’s a launch promo of $89.99 for the year good through 9/17/17)
Of course, this new development is a bit of a mixed blessing that has also been met with a mixed reception among fans. First, fans in other countries outside of the Americas still won’t have access to these KOCOWA exclusive dramas through KOCOWA or Viki even with the Viki Pass Plus at this point.
Second, that is a substantial price increase for access to content that we would have had access to with the standard Viki Pass just a month ago. But with the bulk of KBS, SBS, and MBC dramas suddenly exclusively on KOCOWA, Viki most certainly wanted to get them back. And it looks like higher prices are the price we will have pay to get them.
At this point, KOCOWA is still running it’s own platform with its own subscription options that include a standard monthly plan for $5.99 and a yearly discounted plan for $69.99. So it does look like it would be slightly cheaper to get the Viki Pass Plus rather than Viki Pass Standard and KOCOWA separately.
Of course, you can always decide if one platform over the other better fits your needs. The Viki Pass Plus content is a bit limited right now, but it will likely increase as new dramas continue to be released. Either way, it looks like you will need either Viki Pass Plus or KOCOWA to have access to most dramas from the big three networks. As to which one works best for you will probably depend on what other content you enjoy such as cable kdramas, Chinese dramas, Taiwanese dramas, etc.
So I’m less than thrilled with the new developments, but I guess I will have to adapt. It’s an ever changing world for kdrama fans, so that’s about all we can do.
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