CJ ENM said on Thursday it will establish a joint venture, StudioMonowa, with Japan's TBS and U-NEXT Holdings as part of its push into the global content market.

The company said StudioMonowa will combine planning, production and platform capabilities from South Korea and Japan to build a content value chain that runs from planning and development to production, distribution and IP expansion.

It plans to secure a sustainable revenue model through an LTV (Life-Time Value)-based business structure that spans original IP discovery and investment, drama production, global distribution, and secondary works and related businesses. The strategy is to grow it into a "global premium IP studio" that combines a K-drama production system competitive in global markets with the strength of Japanese IP competitiveness.

The 3 companies will combine their core capabilities to help StudioMonowa take root. CJ ENM will handle content planning and differentiation based on its global production capabilities. TBS will be responsible for discovering original IP in Japan, pushing forward production IP business, and releasing original titles on its channels. U-NEXT will be in charge of securing original titles.

CJ ENM said the establishment of the joint venture began with CJ Group Chairman Jae-hyun Lee visiting Japan in April last year and directly engaging with executives of major local content and media companies to explore the possibility of cooperation.

CJ ENM CEO Sang-hyun Yoon (윤상현) said, "Through cooperation between content companies in Korea and Japan, we will present hit content targeting the world market beyond Asia." He added, "We will make a leap into becoming a global premium IP business operator through an innovative partnership that combines K-content planning capabilities with global production know-how from the IP planning stage."