Original Article: 반론보도닷컴
Author: Yoo Seung-chul (유승철), Professor at Ewha Womans University
Published: December 31, 2025
From Platform Wars to Fandom Ecosystems: The Structural Transformation of TV
The year 2026 marks a pivotal moment in global media history. The structural boundaries that once defined video advertising are collapsing, and the television industry faces an existential question: how does TV survive when viewers no longer wait for it?
According to Omdia's 2025 report, global online video revenue will double from $9 billion in 2020 to $18 billion in 2026, while traditional pay-TV revenue declines from $21 billion to $17 billion over the same period. These figures reveal more than market share shifts—they signal a fundamental transformation in how audiences relate to content.
The real story isn't that online video surpassed television. The real story is why. It's not merely about technological superiority or pricing models. The relationship between viewers and content has fundamentally changed. Audiences no longer passively follow programming schedules; they actively choose content based on personal interests, migrate across platforms following creators, gather in communities, and expand narrative universes together.
The Rise of Fandom: From Viewers to Community
Nielsen's The Gauge (September 2025) reported that YouTube captured 12.6% of smart TV viewing share in the United States, claiming the top position. This statistic symbolizes a complete migration from "passive consumption following programming flow" to "active selection based on interests."
Viewers no longer wait in front of their TVs. They follow content, gather around communities, and expand worldviews with creators. The protagonist emerging from this transformation is fandom.
Fandom differs fundamentally from traditional "viewer groups." Fandom doesn't merely consume content—it recognizes itself through content, accumulates shared meaning, and forms a communal identity. Fandom represents a shift from audience to community, from consumption to co-creation.
Consider Korean content's remarkable performance on Netflix. Ampere Analysis (April 2025) revealed that Korean content commands the second-highest viewing share globally on Netflix after the United States, accounting for 8-9% of total viewing time—ahead of the UK (7-8%) and Japan (4-5%). Given Korea's economic scale, this represents extraordinary cultural influence.
Korean content's success cannot be explained by production quality alone. K-dramas, K-variety shows, and K-music inherently possess structures that fandom prefers: genre diversity, expandable worldviews, and character-driven narratives. These elements enable communities to form and strengthen across the globe.
FAST and AI: Building the Fandom Media Ecosystem
The expansion of online media cannot be explained without FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV). FAST's free streaming model lowers entry barriers, its advertising-based economics enable efficient content distribution, and its structure optimizes for fandom-driven repeat consumption.
Omdia projects global FAST advertising revenue will surge from $6 billion in 2025 to $11 billion by 2030. Yet Wurl's analysis (2025) reveals something more significant than economic metrics: between September 2024 and August 2025, FAST viewing hours increased 29%, daily viewing time per household rose 16%, and monthly active households grew 12%.
These figures demonstrate that FAST isn't merely a new distribution channel—it's a space where fandom lingers. Fandom prefers repeatable structures over fleeting content, and FAST provides infinite repeatability.
Korea's New ID operates over 400 K-content-based FAST channels—more than 300 globally and over 100 domestically—expanding its presence as Asia's largest media-tech company. FAST channels circulate Korean content's worldview 24/7, keeping fandom engaged longer.
AI as Fandom Accelerator
The force most rapidly expanding fandom behavior is undoubtedly AI. The Hollywood Reporter (2025) reported that Kevin Reilly, who led NBC, Fox, and Turner, joined AI company Kartel as CEO.
Reilly stated: "Throughout my career, I've worked at the intersection of culture and commerce, nurturing unique voices and expanding valuable brands and IP. Kartel is built to be a trusted partner for companies seeking to amplify their unique brand DNA at scale through AI systems and solutions."
This signals that AI has evolved beyond a mere tool to become strategic infrastructure in content production ecosystems.
Amazon Prime Video's AI-powered "Video Recaps" follows the same principle. AI automatically summarizes long-form content into high-quality video reconstructions, dramatically accelerating fandom's entry into narrative universes.
AI creates new value within fandom ecosystems: lowering entry barriers for newcomers, expanding worldview understanding for existing fans, and enhancing accessibility for global fandom through automatic multilingual conversion.
AI functions not as content production technology but as a fandom growth accelerator. FAST extends fandom dwell time, AI accelerates fandom expansion speed, and OTT, YouTube, and social platforms connect fandom migration paths. These technologies don't operate separately—they function as complementary elements constructing a unified fandom ecosystem.
What Fandom TV Must Provide
The BBC's 2025 survey of 870,000 respondents offers a crucial case study revealing what the fandom era demands. According to BBC Media Centre (2025), respondents identified elements the BBC should strengthen: "truthfulness" (93%), "quality of storytelling" (85%), and "function connecting people" (75%).
While these appear to be requirements for public broadcasting, they actually reveal fundamental conditions the fandom era demands from media companies. Fandom doesn't grow through content volume—it forms through trust, understanding, and relational experiences mediated by content.
The fact that 91% of respondents in the BBC survey identified political independence as the most important value reflects that fandom requires a foundation of trust between viewers and organizations. Viewers form long-term relationships only when they feel the worlds they consume are fair, transparent, and respectful.
The core of the fandom era isn't content production technology or platform competitiveness—it's transitioning to media structures that center on the meaningful experiences content creates. When these experiences expand continuously, fandom forms. When fandom expands, worldviews emerge. When worldviews sustain, companies secure long-term viability.
Korea's Policy Transformation: Building a K-Content Fandom Ecosystem
Korea's content industry has already secured the world's most powerful media fandom through K-dramas, K-variety, K-music, and webtoon IP. However, national-level strategies to convert this fandom into sustained structural and economic value remain unsystematically organized.
What the Korean government must do now extends beyond technology development support or simple cultural export expansion. It must create a stable ecosystem where fandom can form and sustain reliably in global markets.
Strategic Priorities for Accelerating Global K-Fandom:
First, introduce policy support and regulatory improvements enabling industry-wide adoption of core fandom TV infrastructure: FAST, AI-based production, and multilingual conversion.
Second, strengthen trust-based content ecosystems—like the UK's BBC—so Korean public media platforms can connect with the world.
Third, substantially reform IP policies supporting K-content worldview expansion: copyright frameworks, secondary creation permissions, and data openness policies.
Finally, support new collaboration models enabling co-production and co-operation with global K-fandom communities.
Government policy goals must now transcend simply becoming a "cultural industry powerhouse." Korea must transform into a "K-Fandom-Based Media Strategic Nation" that helps Korean content expand structurally around global K-fandom.
About the Author:
Yoo Seung-chul (유승철) is a Professor at Ewha Womans University's School of Communication & Media, specializing in Media Engineering & Startup Track.
Source: This article is translated and adapted from the original Korean article published on Banronbodo.com on December 31, 2025.
