SOOP, previously known as AfreecaTV (Korean: 아프리카TV, short for "Any FREE broadCAsting") (KRX: 067160), is a video live-streaming service.
In 2024, with its parent company's rebrand, AFTV was relaunched as SOOP, offering two distinct services for Korea and Global users.
The head of AfreecaTV's parent company Nowcom, Mun Yong-sik, was arrested in 2008 for illegally distributing copyrighted films.
[6] He used the platform as a way to conduct a community scanning forum to collect public opinions and allow bloggers with various areas of expertise to participate in the dialogue.
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 games from 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).
Due to such problems, mass media in South Korea have shown concern about the effects of personal broadcasting platforms.
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.