AT&T-owned Warner Bros. announced today that they are shutting down DramaFever, their streaming service focused on Korean dramas. The team will now focus on the streaming infrastructure for Warner Bros. digital operations.
As of October 16, DramaFever has been shut down.
For nine years, DramaFever offered a place for streaming the best Korean, Chinese and Japanese dramas on-demand, straight to your device. We appreciate the passion of our fans and it’s been a privilege to deliver you this content.
While this decision is difficult, there are a variety of business reasons that have led to this conclusion. We appreciate each and every one of our fans and their passion for the content DramaFever was able to bring into your lives.
We’d like to take this time to extend our thanks and gratitude to you, our loyal subscribers. We’ll be issuing refunds as applicable, and subscribers will receive an email from us with details in the coming days.
The service which offered both an ad-supported and ad-free option for $4.99 per month had over 13,000 episodes of K-dramas and Asian TV Shows. DramaFever had licensed top Korean series like Boys Over Flowers, Jealousy Incarnate, and The Best Hit.
In a statement, Warner Bros shared the following:
“Today, Warner Bros. Digital Networks will be closing its DramaFever OTT service due to business reasons and in light of the rapidly changing marketplace for K-drama content, a staple of the service’s programming. Warner Bros. Digital Labs, which encompasses more than two-thirds of the DramaFever workforce, will continue operating, serving as the tech engine behind many of WBDN’s operations.”
The company was founded in 2009, acquired by SoftBank in 2014, and then purchased by Warner Bros. in 2016. With competition form Netflix and Amazon, the move comes as the cost to license K-dramas have gone up dramatically.