Wikipedia

Soop (service)

(Redirected from Afreeca Freecs)

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.[1]

SOOP
FormerlyW Player (2005–2006)
AfreecaTV (2006–2024)
Type of site
Video hosting service, Video streaming service
Available inKorean, English
HeadquartersSouth Korea
Area servedWorldwide
Owner
  • Su Gil Seo (CEO)
ParentSOOP Corp. (2011–present)
Nowcom (2005–2011)
URLwww.sooplive.com
RegistrationAvailable
LaunchedMay 11, 2005; 21 years ago (2005-05-11)
Current statusActive

Launched in 2005, the platform was listed fourth in the "Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion" list by Forbes in July 2019.[2] 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.[3]

History

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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.[3][4]

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.[5]

On September 27, 2012, AfreecaTV English was released on the Google Play store.[6]

Rebranding to SOOP

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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).[7] 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.[8][9]

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.[10] 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.[3][11]

Controversy

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There have been many social problems with Afreeca TV such as offers for sexual favors[12] and abasement of disabled individuals.[13] 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.[14]

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.[14]

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.[15][16]

Esports

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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.[17][18] They currently sponsor a professional League of Legends team, DN SOOPers (formerly Afreeca Freecs, Kwangdong Freecs and DN Freecs).[19][20][21] The Starcraft 2 team was reformed at the start of 2020.[22]

Afreeca also announced on January 23, 2016 that they would be sponsoring two seasons of Brood War tournaments.[23] The tournament has proved popular and is now in its 21st season as of May 2026.[24]

Esports League

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References

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  1. ↑ "Nowcom Will Create "ZettaMedia" for Web Storage Business" (in Korean). Digital Daily. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  2. ↑ "Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  3. 1 2 3 "SOOP: AfreecaTV's New Live-Streaming Platform Fully Explained". Stream Hatchet. 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  4. ↑ Oh, Soo-Kwang (January 2017). "Investigating the success of Afreeca TV's livestream personal broadcast model". International Journal of Web Based Communities. 13 (2): 193–212. doi:10.1504/IJWBC.2017.084414. ISSN 1477-8394.
  5. ↑ Jung Hyo-sik, Lee Min-a (18 June 2008). "Afreeca head accused of pirating". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "AfreecaTV - Android Apps on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ "New streaming platform SOOP to launch globally, partners with esports stars for exclusive content". MARKETECH APAC. 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  8. ↑ "AfreecaTV changes its name to 'SOOP'". THE KOREA ECONOMIC DAILY. 2024.
  9. ↑ "KBO games to be streamed live overseas". Yonhap News Agency. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "AfreecaTV Changes Platform Name to SOOP After 18 Years". Asia Business Daily. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  11. ↑ Dempsey, Iarfhlaith. "SOOP Korea Explained: AfreecaTV's journey to the post-Twitch era". "CStreamers". Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  12. ↑ choi, young kyung. "여자친구 성상납 논란에 휩싸인 아프리카TV 인기BJ" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  13. ↑ Lee, Seul Ki. "다시 고개든 '장애인 비하' 1인 미디어" (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  14. 1 2 "아프리카TV '별풍선' 한도, 하루 100만원으로 제한된다" (in Korean). 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  15. ↑ "Suzy's agency SOOP doesn't want AfreecaTV changing their name to SOOP as well". allkpop. August 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  16. ↑ "Suzy's Agency Files Lawsuit Against AfreecaTV, Case Dismissed". KBIZoom. 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  17. ↑ "Afreeca SC2 team disbands".
  18. ↑ "[취재] 이선종 감독 "아프리카 프릭스로 새출발 하게 되어 정말 기쁘다"" (in Korean). 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  19. ↑ Waltzer, Noah (22 July 2018). "Kingzone topples MVP, Gen.G shines against Afreeca". ESPN.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  20. ↑ Xu, Davide (27 December 2024). "Kwangdong Freecs rebrands to DN Freecs". Esports.net. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  21. ↑ Nicholson, Jonno (22 December 2025). "DN FREECS rebranded to DN SOOPers for 2026". Esports Insider. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  22. ↑ @afreecaTV_gl (3 January 2020). "Welcome to the Afreeca Freecs!..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ "Afreeca to sponsor 2 BW Tournaments in 2016". 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  24. ↑ "afreeca starcraft league's official website".
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