[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] The government is expanding the scope of audience share calculation, which had been limited to real-time TV and daily newspapers, to include online and mobile areas. A concept of 'audiovisual media services' encompassing rapidly growing online video services (OTT) has been established, aiming to create a comprehensive regulatory and support system. Policies to revitalize radio will also be promoted.
The 2021 work plan released by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on the 20th includes numerous measures to support the growth of broadcasting and communications, enhance the vitality of the media industry, and expand media publicness.
First, the KCC will expand the scope of audience share calculation to N-screen across online and mobile platforms. In June, it plans to disclose viewing time and viewing routes by broadcast program through the Broadcasting Statistics Portal to increase the industry's utilization of media statistics. Additionally, to enhance the reliability of private media data such as ratings, minimum standards for survey methods will be established in the third quarter.
A concept of audiovisual media services including terrestrial broadcasting, paid broadcasting platforms, paid PP, and OTT will also be established. This is to create a regulatory and support system that comprehensively considers service competition activation, public interest, user protection, and influence on public opinion. Legislation to promote media industry development and enhance user rights will also be pursued within the year.
Plans to prepare a foundation for expanding broadcasting growth engines, such as reforming advertising and programming regulations, will also be prepared within this month. The programming ratio for entertainment programs (general programming), main broadcasting fields (specialized programming), and single-country imported content (movies, animation, popular music) will be relaxed. Meanwhile, the programming ratio calculation period will be simplified to 'semi-annually and annually,' and all programming regulations on terrestrial DMB will be temporarily suspended for a certain period.
Furthermore, to allow more viewers to enjoy immersive ultra-high-definition content and various forms of broadcasting services, the activation of terrestrial UHD will be promoted. Starting with KBS Jeju Bureau this year, a nationwide UHD network will be completed by 2023. The plan also includes phased expansion of support for UHD content production and workforce training for small and regional broadcasters, as well as support for paid broadcasting retransmission of terrestrial UHD.
In addition, considering the characteristics of radio as highly portable and receivable even during disasters, radio will be revitalized. Plans for AM/FM radio function adjustments and new radio broadcasting licensing policies will be prepared, along with support for the development of integrated radio apps and portals. A special radio support law will also be prepared, including strengthening disaster broadcasting roles, establishing radio development support plans, and forming an executive body for radio promotion.
From the regulatory improvement perspective, simplification of type and time regulations through a total daily broadcasting advertisement quota system will be pursued, allowing mid-roll advertisements. Integrated application standards to prevent indirect mid-roll advertisements, principles for permitting mid-roll ads, and mandatory regulations on the size of notification captions will also be advanced by June.
Alongside this, in response to the restructuring of the paid broadcasting market oligopoly due to SO mergers and acquisitions, fair competition environments will be reviewed to check for any acts harming viewer interests. Amendments to the Broadcasting Act to prevent home shopping linked programming and clarification of legal grounds for bundled sales-related systems will also proceed. Amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act (scheduled for June), including prohibitions on discriminatory network usage contracts between operators and establishment of grounds for network usage-related surveys, are also planned.
In particular, the KCC will strengthen enforcement against overseas operators' violations by conducting inspections in March on the designation and operation status of domestic agents for overseas operators, following repeated controversies over domestic operator disadvantages.
Media publicness such as broadcasting will also be strengthened. Support will be provided to establish legal grounds for multi-channel broadcasting (MMS) for KBS and EBS, and to enhance educational effectiveness for elementary and disabled children by supporting EBS's production of immersive educational content (AR/VR). Furthermore, by strengthening the implementation inspection of fairness-related re-approval conditions imposed on general programming and news PP, the fairness of news and current affairs programs will be improved by minimizing legal sanctions for violations of review regulations.
In the first half of the year, a comprehensive plan to improve the disaster broadcasting system will be established to efficiently respond to various disasters that are becoming more frequent and localized. The KCC will also set up a 'Disaster Broadcasting Situation Room' to strengthen disaster broadcasting monitoring and information sharing, ensuring the control tower role is effectively performed.
Regarding the license fee system, the plan includes improving the rationality and transparency of license fee calculation and usage details, and strengthening the role of public broadcasting. Specifically, this involves accounting separation between license fees and other revenues, mandatory disclosure of license fee usage details, and establishing grounds for the installation of a license fee committee.
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