Soop (stylized in all caps; Korean:숲코리아), previously known as W Player (Korean:W플레이어) and AfreecaTV (Korean:아프리카TV), is a video live streaming service. It is owned and operated by SOOP Co., Ltd. in South Korea, which was rebranded from Nowcom's AfreecaTV Co., Ltd, itself split with ZettaMedia in 2011.

Launched in 2005, the platform was listed fourth in the "Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion" list by Forbes in July 2019. Initially focused on Korean viewers, it began offering an English-language interface for international users in 2012. In 2024, with its parent company's rebrand, AfreecaTV was relaunched as Soop, offering two distinct services for Korea and Global users.

History

Soop initially started as a W beta service on May 11, 2005, and was officially named "Afreeca" on March 9, 2006.[clarification needed] The site mainly re-transmits TV channels but also allows users to upload their own videos and shows. Functions such as broadcasting, viewing, channel listing, live chatting, and discussion boards are provided. Users are required to install 'Afreeca Player' for grid delivery. Independent broadcasters called broadcasting jockeys (BJs) deliver live broadcasts to viewers, who can add them to their list of favorite channels using an Afreeca Player tool. Paid services such as quick views or channel relays allow BJs additional sources of revenue.

The head of AfreecaTV's parent company Nowcom, Mun Yong-sik, was arrested in 2008 for illegally distributing copyrighted films. Some alleged the arrest was politically motivated due to Afreeca being used by protesters to coordinate.

On September 27, 2012, AfreecaTV English was released on the Google Play store.

Rebranding to SOOP

In 2024, AfreecaTV was relaunched as SOOP by splitting the platform into two distinct versions: Korea and Global. The Global version was launched as a separate platform early in the year, with user interface and design different from AfreecaTV, and secures rights deals with major sporting events such as the international streaming rights of the Korea Baseball Organization, as well as becoming the exclusive streaming provider of Valorant Challengers SEA (which SOOP runs as the tournament's official organizer). On October 15, months after non-Korean languages were removed from the platform following the Global version's launch, AfreecaTV itself changed its name to SOOP, becoming the Korea version of the service.

The corporate parent changed its name from AfreecaTV Co. to SOOP Co. in March 2024 and was relisted under the new name on Korea's KOSDAQ market in April. The rebrand followed Twitch's withdrawal from the South Korean market in February 2024, which Twitch attributed to the high network usage fees levied on streaming services in the country. The move left SOOP competing primarily with Chzzk, a streaming service launched by Naver.

Controversy

There have been many social problems with Afreeca TV such as offers for sexual favors and abasement of disabled individuals. Many broadcasters were involved in these incidents, and they were punished by managers of Afreeca TV by suspension of their IDs. Due to such problems, mass media in South Korea have shown concern about the effects of personal broadcasting platforms.

A claim was made that audience overloading has caused overpayment of fees for Internet broadcasting. In light of this, Korea's Clean Internet Broadcasting Council came to an agreement with Afreeca TV to reduce the payment maximum to less than 1 million won (a little less than US$900) per day by June 2008.

The 2024 rebrand drew a separate dispute over the SOOP name. Management SOOP, a talent agency owned by Kakao Entertainment that represents the actress Suzy, objected to the change and sought a court injunction, arguing that the shared name harmed the reputation of its artists. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the application, finding the streaming and talent-management businesses sufficiently distinct that consumers were unlikely to confuse them.

Esports

Afreeca picked up the SBENU StarCraft II team on January 23, 2016 and participated in Proleague. On November 21, 2016, it was announced that the team was disbanding its StarCraft II division, though it kept involvement in Starcraft up. They currently sponsor a professional League of Legends team, DN SOOPers (formerly Afreeca Freecs, Kwangdong Freecs and DN Freecs). The Starcraft 2 team was reformed at the start of 2020.

Afreeca also announced on January 23, 2016 that they would be sponsoring two seasons of Brood War tournaments. The tournament has proved popular and is now in its 21st season as of May 2026.

Esports League

External links

  • (in Korean)