The global streaming giant Netflix nearly tripled its paid subscription base in South Korea in just a year, a study showed.

The number of paid Netflix subscribers in Korea last month totaled 1.84 million compared with 630,000 in June 2018, according to the local app industry tracker Wiseapp on Tuesday.

The 20s-30s accounted for more than two-thirds of all Netflix subscriptions, with the 20s making up 38 percent and the 30s with 31 percent. The 40s took up 15 percent and the 50s with 17 percent.

They spent a total of 24.1 billion won ($20.4 million) in June, or 13,130 won per head.

The study was conducted on a random panel of Koreans over 20 years old and based on their debit and credit card transactions, wire transfers and mobile payments.

Netflix currently has a 30 percent share of the global streaming service market, according to the U.S. tech journal The Record. Its worldwide subscription was tallied at 148,860,000 in the first quarter of this year ended March, up 26 percent from the same period a year ago. Paid subscriptions accounted for about 10 million.

The intimidating growth of Netflix has accelerated the consolidation move among Korean players to defend their home turf.

SK Broadband has decided to merge its mobile streaming app Oksusu with Pooq, a streaming platform run by the country’s three terrestrial broadcasters. The newly formed entity, WAVVE, is to be launched this September and boast a formidable subscription base of 13 million, combining 9.46 million users from Oksusu and 4 million from Pooq.

By Lee Yong-ik and Kim Hyo-jin

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