"Baby Shark (Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo)" is the YouTube sensation that's been viewed more than 2 billion times and made the Billboard Hot 100 chart last week as its top new entrant. The jingle has also become such an earworm that late-night-show host Jimmy Kimmel proposed throwing those responsible in jail for life.
Love or hate it, the South Korean company behind the one-and-a-half minute song about a family of sharks is now seeking to capitalize on the success by expanding its kid-oriented entertainment business. Seoul-based SmartStudy Co.'s Pinkfong is planning to release short videos via Netflix Inc., a cartoon series and a musical in North America this year, one of the company's founders said in an interview this week. The startup, which has recently signed various merchandising deals, may also develop games that work with Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa and Alphabet Inc.'s Google Home voice assistants, he said.
The popularity of the sing-along builds on Korea's emergence as an entertainment powerhouse. Korean pop, or K-pop, has grown into a $5 billion industry thanks to the success of the likes of boy-band BTS, which has signed commercial deals with big companies from Hyundai Motor Co. to Barbie-maker Mattel Inc., and Psy, whose "Gangnam Style" is at more than 3 billion views and counting.