Netflix Price Hikes Spark Antitrust Concerns – Can a Balanced Content Ecosystem Be Found?

Netflix’s continued price increases are exacerbating concerns about market dominance in the South Korean OTT landscape. This is weakening the competitiveness of local OTT services and creating imbalances in the content production environment, leading to increased regulatory scrutiny. This article analyzes Netflix’s strategy and the current state of the domestic OTT market, forecasting future competitive dynamics and the future of the content ecosystem.

Netflix’s Pricing Strategy and Market Dynamics

According to a report by Maekyung News on February 13, 2026, Netflix is pursuing a strategy to improve profitability through continued price increases. This can be interpreted as a response to intensifying competition in the global market and rising content production costs. However, in South Korea, these price increases are being cited as a factor weakening the competitiveness of domestic OTT services and increasing consumer burden. Concerns have consistently been raised that Netflix’s dominant market position restricts competition and hinders content diversity.

Challenges for Domestic OTT Services

Domestic OTT services are in a disadvantaged position in the competition to attract users compared to Netflix’s overwhelming content lineup and marketing capabilities. They have relatively limited capital and content production capabilities. Consequently, they are threatened with survival due to Netflix’s price increases. In particular, Netflix is further strengthening its competitive advantage by expanding investments in original content production.

Potential for Regulatory Strengthening

Netflix’s dominant market position and pricing strategy are increasing the likelihood of regulatory strengthening. Increased monitoring of anti-competitive behavior and unfair trading practices is expected, and institutional improvements to foster a healthy competitive environment in the OTT market may be implemented. A thorough review of Netflix’s content distribution methods, pricing policies, and platform competition is anticipated.

Finding Equilibrium in the Content Ecosystem

To ensure the continued growth of the OTT market, it is crucial to create a balanced competitive environment between Netflix and domestic OTT services and to secure diversity in the content ecosystem. The government should pursue policies to prevent market dominance, expand content production support, and guarantee consumer choice. In addition, domestic OTT services must strengthen their competitiveness through differentiated content strategies and technological innovation compared to Netflix.