Naver Plus Membership is aiming for another “quantum jump” in subscribers as it hosts the 2026 North America World Cup.

Naver will exclusively broadcast all World Cup matches online and on mobile through its streaming platform Chijijik. Full HD live broadcasts of all matches and full replays will be available only to Naver Plus Membership or paid Chijijik subscribers. Free users can watch South Korea national team matches only in standard definition, and the broadcast coverage is limited.

Naver secured domestic new media broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup through a contract with JoongAng Group. This North America World Cup is the first major World Cup broadcast to be presented on Chijijik since the deal. The tournament runs from the 12th to July 20, with 48 countries playing 104 matches over 39 days, the largest scale ever. Chijijik will be the only online platform to broadcast all matches.

Viewing conditions depend on whether users have a membership. Subscribers to Naver Plus Membership (4,900 won a month) or Chijijik’s ad-removal product “Cheatkey” (14,300 won a month) can use full HD (1080p) live broadcasts of all matches and full video replays. Non-subscribers can watch only South Korea matches in standard definition (480p), while matches involving other countries are available only as key clips and highlights. This World Cup can be seen as Naver’s first full-fledged case of bundling full-HD, all-match access for a major sports live broadcast as a membership benefit. Naver previously supported free HD live broadcasts for all users during the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the Winter Olympics broadcast in February.

SUBSCRIPTION ECOSYSTEM EXPANSION, NOT FEE RECOVERY, IS THE GOAL

Naver Plus Membership has continued to grow since its launch in June 2020. Membership-related revenue last year was 235.7 billion won, up 20.7 percent from 195.2 billion won a year earlier. Expanded content benefits, including a partnership with Netflix in November 2024, are also cited as factors affecting membership growth.

The surface-level backdrop to partial paywalling is cost burden. JTBC disclosed the total broadcasting rights fee for this World Cup at about $125 million (about 188 billion won), and the exclusive new media rights were resold from JTBC. The industry estimates Naver spent at least 30 billion won. Naver’s business report showed its intangible assets on a standalone basis in December last year at about 271.1 billion won, up 203 percent from about 89.5 billion won a year earlier, and Naver cited securing broadcasting rights such as the World Cup and Olympics as the reason.

But recovering rights fees through subscription fees alone is numerically difficult. Even a simple calculation of the minimum estimate of 30 billion won at a monthly subscription fee of 4,900 won would require more than 6 million new subscribers. In reality, the burden is larger when factoring in free trials, coupons and infrastructure costs. That is why there is analysis that Naver’s real goal lies in expanding its ecosystem rather than the subscription fee itself.

Of the 2 paid options, Naver Plus Membership (4,900 won a month) is about one-third the price of Cheatkey (14,300 won a month). Naver Plus Membership provides shopping point accrual and external partnership benefits, and it has recently become a pilot offering target for AI Tab, expanding touchpoints with Naver’s core services. The price gap is analyzed as a design that leads users to subscribe to Naver’s overall ecosystem rather than a single-platform subscription.

Users who join the membership for the World Cup are naturally connected beyond watching Chijijik to Naver Plus Store coupons, Naver Pay point accrual and shopping and reservation services. Naver is lowering the barrier to entry by promoting a first-month subscription fee refund coupon and additional Naver Pay point accrual benefits for new subscribers. The World Cup is a short-term event, but membership subscribers are repeatedly exposed afterward to Naver commerce and content services.

One industry official said, “Events like the World Cup, where national interest is concentrated, become an opportunity to draw in users who would not even consider joining a membership under normal circumstances.” The official added, “Once users sign up and experience shopping coupons and Naver Pay benefits, it becomes a structure with less incentive to cancel.”

LINKED TO ADVANCING AI SERVICES

The World Cup boost also intersects with Naver’s AI strategy. Naver in April provided its new AI service “AI Tab” on a pilot basis first to Plus Membership users, and it is aiming for an official launch within this month. AI Tab is a conversational search service that connects Naver’s core services including integrated search, shopping, Place, blog and Cafe and leads to actual execution. As Naver has declared a shift to an “action-oriented AI platform” that connects search to shopping and reservations, membership users’ behavioral data becomes a key asset in that strategy. Still, there are variables the strategy must overcome for it to be effective.

The key is after the World Cup. South Korea’s 3 group-stage matches are all scheduled for weekday mornings: 11 a.m. on the 12th (against the Czech Republic), 10 a.m. on the 19th (against Mexico) and 10 a.m. on the 25th (against South Africa). It is not an easy time slot for office workers and students to watch live. If the team is eliminated early in the group stage, interest in the World Cup and the membership inflow effect could weaken at the same time. User backlash over the 480p quality limit, and controversy over an institutional blind spot in which the “universal viewing right” clause does not apply to online platforms, also remain burdens.

Another official said, “As long as Naver promotes an action-oriented AI platform, membership users’ behavioral data becomes increasingly important.” The official added, “If subscribers drawn in by the World Cup do not stop at viewing and also use shopping, payments and reservations, then from Naver’s perspective it expands the touchpoints to grasp user flows across content and commerce.”