Search giant Naver’s V, launched in September, has so far attracted more than 1.2 million users, setting the stage for a strong 2016, according to industry watchers.

The live-streaming app provides broadcasts of Korea’s top celebrities including Big Bang, Girls’ Generation and Psy, gaining much traction among teenage fans at home and abroad.

As of November, its accumulative downloads stood at 8 million, the clips were played more than 180 million times and over 4,000 comments were posted. A monthly average duration time from September to November was longer than 60 minutes.

Market observers including KDB Daewoo Securities and LIG Investment Securities said 2016 would bring much better earnings to the tech giant, with its new businesses including V app and Naver TV Cast expected to see continued growth.

Still, the service needs more strategies to expand its user base to firmly position itself as a successful mobile app.

“The V app needs to appeal more to the public with other services such as beauty and Webtoons beyond a strong fan base,” an industry insider said.

Naver’s real-time broadcasting app V allows fans to interact with their favorite K-pop stars through live broadcasts. The app is available for Android and iOS. For more information, visit www.vlive.tv.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.naver.vapp
Apple App Store https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1019447011?mt=8