Customized TV for the MZ Generation, Evolved Like This

SK Broadband Launches OTT Box 'PlayJet' for 2030 Audience
Offers Integrated Services and Personalized Content

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Broadband has launched an ‘Over-the-Top (OTT) Box’ targeting the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), who tend to avoid traditional living room TVs. The device integrates various OTT services to provide personalized curated content and welcomes new customers with web variety shows and dramas from platforms like KakaoTV that appeal to younger audiences.

Targeting MZ Generation That Doesn’t Watch TV

On the 25th, SK Broadband announced the launch of the OTT box ‘PlayZ.’ The product can be connected not only to TVs but also to PC monitors and laptops. The price is 79,000 KRW.

The three main features include the representative ‘OTT Portal’ that gathers domestic and international OTT services. Users can easily select from the three major domestic OTT platforms?Wavve, TVING, and Watcha?as well as Apple TV Plus (+), YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and more. The free live TV service ‘ChannelZ’ offers over 30 free channels including variety shows, dramas, movies, sports, and news. Various content such as games, karaoke, and kids’ applications are also available. AfreecaTV and Twitch are pre-installed as basic apps.

SK Broadband does not charge any additional fees. As IPTV is SK Broadband’s core business, the company is positioning itself as an intermediary channel for OTT services. This targets the MZ generation who use YouTube and OTT services without watching IPTV. According to the Korea Communications Commission’s ‘2020 Media Usage Survey,’ only 65.0% of households headed by people in their 20s or younger own a TV. This is nearly 30 percentage points lower than the overall rate of 94.3%. Among single-person households, the rate drops to 58.7%, below 60%. Meanwhile, OTT services are thriving and capturing the MZ generation. A 2021 KISDI survey showed OTT subscription rates of 83.8%, 95.7%, and 94.1% for teenagers, people in their 20s, and 30s, respectively.

Regarding concerns about code-cutting (the shift of paid broadcasting subscribers to new platforms like OTT), Kim Hyuk, CEO of SK Broadband, responded, “While existing IPTV (Btv) subscribers may switch to PlayZ, these customers were likely willing to switch anyway. Given that 70% of South Korea already uses OTT, we believed it was better to offer a new service platform rather than resist this trend.”

Providing Hobby-Specialized Content

For free content, SK Broadband differentiated from IPTV by excluding terrestrial and general programming channels due to retransmission fees. Instead, they selected KakaoTV originals like ‘Jjin Kyung-gyu,’ web variety shows such as ‘Workman,’ and various hobby-specialized programs including travel, home training, and pet care. According to the Korea Communications Commission, the viewing share of terrestrial TV programs by age group is 78.9% for teenagers, 77.7% for people in their 20s, and 90.7% for people in their 30s, reaching 98.8% for those aged 70 and above. The younger the age, the lower the proportion watching terrestrial TV programs. An industry insider noted, “With the soaring content costs of terrestrial broadcasting programs, there was likely a judgment that it was unnecessary to bear high costs to attract the MZ generation, who are not interested in terrestrial TV.”

The broadcasting industry also anticipates that the ‘OTT Box’ business model could become an opportunity for domestic expansion. While OTT boxes have become common overseas, especially in North America centered around Roku TV, they have not yet been activated in Korea. An industry source said, “As telecommunications companies, which have mainly focused on IPTV, enter the OTT box market, expectations are growing that the market itself will expand. In the past, some companies launched OTT boxes but insisted on their own services only, which eventually led to failure. It is important to maintain an open ecosystem to avoid repeating those mistakes.”