Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte, left, poses with Son Heung-min after a pre-match press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, Seoul, on July 12. Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Coupang Play, an over-the-top (OTT) service run by local e-commerce firm Coupang, attracted a record-high number of viewers with its "Coupang Play Series" that invited international soccer teams Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla FC, the company said Sunday.

The two friendly matches, which included a game against Team K League, were live streamed in Korea attracting nearly 3 million online viewers.

About 1.84 million viewers watched Tottenham's game against Team K League on July 13 to cheer for Korean soccer star Son Heung-min. A total of 627,330 new users signed up for the membership program to watch the soccer match in one day, according to mobile big data platform, Mobile Index. On July 16, 1.1 million viewers logged on to Coupang Play to watch the English team play against the Spanish club online.

The soccer match was exclusively broadcast on Coupang Play for its Wow Membership users only, who pay a monthly fee of 4,990 won ($3.77) and only they could purchase the tickets to the games.

A total of 64,100 people showed up at Seoul World Cup Stadium last Wednesday for the Team K League vs. Tottenham match and 43,998 people gathered at Suwon World Cup Stadium last Saturday for the Tottenham vs. Sevilla game.

The e-commerce firm said it has achieved unprecedented results with its sports event designed only for paid-membership users with its Coupang Play Series. It was also praised for smoothly hosting such a large-scale sports event as an OTT service operator.

"We have prepared this event to provide a new and unique experience to our Wow Membership users who have shown tremendous support for our over-the-top service. Through the soccer matches, we have gathered millions of soccer fans both on and offline and we are proud with what we have accomplished," a Coupang official said.