Netflix’s ‘Round 6’ phenomenon has sparked a row between the streaming giant and a South Korean operator. SK Broadband has decided to sue Netflix for the increased network traffic caused by a large number of viewers of the series, as they demanded additional payments from Netflix to cover maintenance costs caused by the network overload.

Information published by Reuters. According to the article, SK Broadband estimates that Netflix owes the equivalent of $22.9 million for the inconvenience that occurred in 2022 alone.

What SK Broadband is asking, in particular, is that companies like Netflix pay “bandwidth fees” to offset any increase in maintenance costs that carriers incur when those services’ traffic experiences some kind of surge. .

Netflix has already denied the allegations and published a post on its official blog detailing the numbers the company says show that the streaming service is beneficial for the South Korean economy and also for spreading the country’s culture across the planet. “Round Six,” for example, was the first Korean production to reach the most-watched spot on Netflix in the US.

However, justice in South Korea appears to be on SK Broadband’s side – in June, a local court ruled against Netflix when the company questioned the company’s motives for charging a “bandwidth fee”. The court said at the time that it was “reasonable” that Netflix would be required to make such payments.

Learn more about Round Six

A South Korean man named Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) whose financial life is in trouble accepts an invitation to participate in a game with a billionaire prize for whoever reaches the end. Behind him is a group of more than 400 people squabbling over money. However, upon reaching there, the protagonist discovers that only one will survive. It’s the plot of “Round 6”, the bloody and sadistic nine-episode series that is Netflix’s latest success. The production was critically acclaimed and has an approval rating of 100%, according to Rotten Tomatoes.