Netflix exec says BTS comeback show was impossible to pass up

Hours before the release of "Arirang" — BTS's first full-group studio album in nearly four years — the organizers behind the group's Saturday comeback concert held a press briefing at a theatre in central Seoul, steps from Gwanghwamun Square, where the show will take place.

This time, Netflix holds exclusive global streaming rights to the concert. Brandon Riegg, Netflix's VP of unscripted series and sports, said the decision to partner with Hybe on the event — the streamer's first live music broadcast, and its first live event transmitted out of South Korea — was straightforward from the outset.

"It was very clear from the start that this opportunity was one we could not pass up," he said. The deal reflected "a shared strategy and belief that combining the strengths of both sides" would produce something meaningful for fans worldwide.

Netflix has been doubling down on live programming lately, with recent broadcasts ranging from Alex Honnold scaling a Taipei skyscraper to WWE events and an NFL Christmas game. Riegg said what connects them is the scarcity of moments that pull a global audience together at once.

"There's so many different options for entertainment right now," he said, "and so when you can find these opportunities for these very singular moments, it feels like something that creates an urgency and that you can't miss it."

The BTS concert would likely be "the biggest thing this year that we've seen on Netflix in terms of our live ambition," he added.

Garrett English, whose Los Angeles-based production company Done+Dusted is producing the live event, said the central challenge was to balance the historic significance of the venue with the demands of a modern pop production.

"We spent a lot of time in terms of the location with our partners here as well as the design of the show," he said, "to make sure that it felt modern and in keeping with the band and its vision but also respectful of the place that it is and in harmony with that place."

The production spans from Gyeongbokgung down Sejongdaero to Seoul City Hall Plaza, a footprint that runs to 9.5 kilometers of power cable, 23 cameras, and 164,500 kilograms of broadcast equipment.

English said the broadcast team's task was to capture both the sweep of that scale and something more immediate: to "be quite intimate in a moment and really celebrate the band on stage."

Kim Hyun-jung, VP of Big Hit Music — the Hybe label that manages BTS — oversaw the album's A&R and creative process. She said "Arirang" was conceived around the group's identity and origins, with both Korean and English used throughout the record to reach listeners beyond the existing fanbase.

"This album really started off from the BTS members' identity and also from their roots," she said, adding that the hope was for it to "transcend generations and reach and touch the hearts of those who have never heard of BTS before."

Yoo Dong-ju, CEO of Hybe Music Group APAC, said the choice of Gwanghwamun as the comeback venue was a deliberate statement about where the group comes from.

He revealed that the call was made personally by Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the reasoning being that a group which originated in Korea and grew into a global phenomenon should begin its next chapter at the country's most iconic public space.

"This is not just a performance," Yoo said. "It is going to be a moment to remember in history and a culture-defining moment as well."

Saturday's concert streams live on Netflix at 8 p.m. KST — 6 a.m. ET, 3 a.m. PT. A companion documentary, "BTS: The Return," directed by Bao Nguyen, premieres on Netflix on March 27.