NOL UNIVERSE announced the results of its 2025 entertainment and ticketing data analysis today. Based on sales data from NOL and NOL Ticket, the market showed clear expansion driven by content diversification and evolving viewing habits.

The analysis covered the entire spectrum of the industry, including Musicals, Concerts, Theater, Sports, Exhibition/Events, Classical/Dance, and Family. Total transaction volume across these categories grew by 7% year-over-year (YoY), maintaining solid growth.By category, Concerts recorded the highest growth at 15%, followed by Sports (7%) and Musicals (3%).

■ Diversifying Concert Genres and Stronger Female Fandom; Earlier Booking TrendsThe concert market in 2025 was characterized by genre diversification and powerful fandom influence. Top-selling events based on ticket volume featured a mix of global pop stars like Coldplay and Oasis, alongside diverse domestic artists such as Kim Dong-ryul, SEVENTEEN, and Lim Young-woong.

Notably, the share of female ticket buyers in the concert category increased by 7%p YoY, demonstrating significant purchasing power.Booking lead times have also moved up significantly. While the average booking lead time across all categories shifted from 26 days to 32 days before the event (up 6 days), concertgoers showed a trend of booking approximately 15 days earlier than in the previous year.

■ Culture as a Daily Routine: Weekday Attendance and Solo Bookings on the RiseBooking patterns revealed that single-ticket reservations accounted for nearly 50% of all bookings. Categories with the highest share of solo attendees were Concerts (59%), Theater (57%), and Musicals (55%), likely driven by strong fandoms and the "revolving door" (repeat viewing) culture.

Weekday attendance (Mon–Thu) is also becoming a new norm. The share of weekday concert tickets sold increased by 11%p YoY to 27%, indicating that the weekend-centric performance culture is expanding into the work week. Additionally, the Exhibition/Event category saw a 50:50 split between weekday and weekend attendance, suggesting that cultural activities have settled in as a daily lifestyle rather than just a special event.

■ From Baseball to Soccer, From Seoul to the Provinces: Expanding the HorizonsIn the sports category, the diversification of popular sports was prominent. While baseball dominated the popularity rankings in the previous year, interest in Soccer exploded in 2025. Global big matches such as FC Seoul vs. FC BARCELONA and Daegu FC vs. FC BARCELONA, as well as domestic league matches, topped the rankings.

The expansion of cultural content beyond the Seoul metropolitan area was also noteworthy. In terms of listing growth by region, Chungcheongbuk-do recorded the fastest growth with a 37% increase YoY. This was followed by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (26.4%) and Chungcheongnam-do (26.0%), reflecting an active supply of cultural products in non-metropolitan areas to meet regional demand.

“As entertainment content diversifies and viewing habits evolve, cultural consumption is becoming part of daily life,” said Baek Sae-mi, Head of Entertainment Business Group at NOL UNIVERSE. “We plan to lead the growth of the entertainment and leisure market by further enhancing our services based on data-driven insights that reflect the diverse tastes of our customers”.