Hollywood meets K-wave boom
The interplay between American media power, Korean content momentum and fast-advancing artificial intelligence is reshaping the global entertainment landscape, creating an industry defined as much by shifting audiences as by the technologies that now shape how stories are made and consumed.
This convergence is emerging at a moment when the United States remains the world's single largest media and entertainment economy, while Korea continues to lead the surge in non-English programming with unprecedented global reach.
Omdia's latest forecast places the United States at the centre of a $1.1 trillion worldwide market, generating an estimated $430 billion in revenues and dominating every major streaming category, from subscription video services to connected TV advertising.
The US controls 53% of global SVOD earnings, 80% of free ad-supported television (FAST) revenues and 70% of connected TV advertising, underscoring its continuing influence on how audiences watch and engage with entertainment across platforms and regions.
Yet in parallel with this dominance, Korean content has grown into the most-watched non-English programming on the planet, with regular appearances in Netflix's global Top 10 charts and a fan base that expands with every major release.
This surge has placed Korea in a rare position where its creative output travels effortlessly across borders, winning audiences beyond language barriers and challenging long-held assumptions about what global viewers want.
At the recent KFAST event in New York, Maria Rua Aguete, who heads media and entertainment research at Omdia, highlighted how these two forces are now aligning in ways that could alter the competitive direction of the industry.
She described the United States as both the world's biggest FAST market and the most important arena for future channel growth, while simultaneously noting that Korean programming is now the most in-demand non-English content internationally.
Her assessment suggested that the combination of Korean storytelling and American distribution reach represents not just a cultural exchange but a significant commercial opportunity worth billions of dollars.
Rua Aguete pointed out that platforms are actively searching for premium, high-engagement content that can hold viewer attention in an increasingly crowded market. Korean FAST channels, she said, carry precisely the kind of momentum, audience loyalty and international familiarity that could help them compete in the United States, especially as streaming services refine their offerings to retain users amid rising subscription costs and shifting advertising models.
The potential for Korean FAST channels in the US appears to be at its strongest yet, aided by both the country's expanding global fan base and the continued appetite of American viewers for diverse, fast-paced programming.
With FAST platforms growing quickly inside the US, the window for Korean content to establish a firm foothold seems wider than ever, supported by a synergy in audience behaviour that Omdia believes could accelerate further.
However, the evolution of the entertainment industry is being shaped by more than just geography and genre. According to Morgan Stanley's latest analysis, generative artificial intelligence is poised to transform the way films, television, music and other media are created and delivered, potentially lowering costs, restructuring workflows and widening access for creators across the world.
The firm notes that technology has always redirected the industryfrom the shift to colour cinema to the rise of music streamingbut GenAI is expected to be far more disruptive, enabling faster production and more personalised content discovery.
Benjamin Swinburne, who leads Morgan Stanley's research into media and communications, warned that while GenAI offers major efficiencies, it also presents risks by giving individuals and smaller companies the tools to produce high-quality content that may rival the output of major studios.
He believes audiences could see professional-standard productions from vastly smaller teams within five years, a development that may challenge traditional hierarchies and drive competition from unexpected players.
GenAI could also push the industry toward consolidation, particularly if technology companies with powerful platforms, intellectual property and AI capabilities decide to expand deeper into entertainment.
Swinburne suggested that a future media conglomerate may be one that houses both entertainment and technology assets under one corporate structure, merging creative production with digital infrastructure.
The music industry is experiencing its own shift as GenAI tools make recording and distribution cheaper and more accessible, enabling artists to create studio-quality work from their homes and upload directly to streaming platforms.
Labels may benefit from larger catalogues and more chances to discover emerging talent, but are also likely to face greater audience fragmentation, making effective curation more vital. To address this, AI-driven personalisation is becoming central to how music reaches listeners, strengthening engagement by matching the right tracks to the right audiences at the right moment.
Together, these developments suggest that global entertainment is entering a period defined by intersecting forces: the commercial strength of the United States, the cultural momentum of Korea, and the technological disruption ushered in by artificial intelligence.