CJ ENM is putting weight behind its fandom platform business to expand an artist fandom-based revenue structure. It plans to lay the groundwork for growth by increasing investment in original content on its own platform. As fandom platforms are emerging as a "revenue hub" that goes beyond a communication channel to bundle various types of spending, major entertainment companies are moving faster to secure the initiative.
According to the entertainment industry on the 21st, cumulative subscribers to CJ ENM's fandom platform Mnet Plus reached 44.78 million in the first quarter of this year, up 62.7% from a year earlier. Mnet Plus is a platform where users in about 250 regions can vote in music shows and audition programs and watch major content such as KCON. Along with Mnet Plus, a separate service called "Plus Chat" has been set up as a communication channel between artists and fans.
In the past, fandom platforms remained spaces where artists and fans could exchange messages. Recently, however, they have been adding various functions such as content and merchandise purchases, increasing time spent and spending.
HYBE's Weverse sought differentiation with a feature that allows artists and fans to listen to music in real time. Weverse is also used to queue conveniently without waiting directly on-site at festivals. Joining the competition relatively later than HYBE and SM Entertainment, CJ ENM expanded the fan experience by adding services such as collecting and viewing artists' digital photocards.
Fandom platforms are indispensable revenue sources for major entertainment companies. Weverse Company, a subsidiary that operates HYBE's fandom platform Weverse, posted sales of 99.8 billion won in the first quarter of this year. It generated higher sales than some labels under HYBE (ADOR and Source Music). Operating cash flow also jumped significantly from about 400 million won in 2024 to about 17.7 billion won in 2025. As membership, merchandise, and concert-linked spending through fan platforms expanded, the revenue structure stabilized.
DearU, an SM Entertainment subsidiary that operates the fandom platform Bubble, posted a net profit of 19.3 billion won in the first quarter of this year. SM Entertainment additionally acquired 11.4% equity in DearU last year, bringing it under consolidation. The effect of reflecting this in earnings also appeared. SM Entertainment recorded sales of 279.1 billion won in the first quarter of this year, up 20.6% from a year earlier. SM Entertainment said the sales increase reflected factors such as the effect of bringing DearU under consolidation.
Keeping pace with the changes, CJ ENM is also working to scale up Mnet Plus. Although specific sales figures have not been disclosed, first-quarter sales this year increased 263.1% from a year earlier, continuing its growth momentum. Together with Tving, its over-the-top (OTT) subsidiary, CJ ENM has designated fandom platforms such as Mnet Plus as core future growth drivers.
The market is offering analysis that, despite weakness in the advertising business, the growth of fandom platforms could become a factor for a rebound in CJ ENM's earnings going forward.
Analyst Lee Ki-hoon at Hana Securities said, "The shift to digital continues, with high growth at Tving and Mnet Plus and efforts to merge Tving and Wavve," and predicted, "As early as the second half of next year, growth in the digital sector could outpace the decline in TV ads, allowing for a gradual upward trajectory."