SkyTV and Media Genie Merge... Growing 'Woo Young-woo' Channel ENA to a 1 Trillion Won Valuation

November 1 Launch of Merged Corporation... Synergy with KT Group Media Affiliates

Shareholding structure before and after the merger of Skylife TV and Media Genie. Photo by KT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Skylife TV, a comprehensive broadcasting channel operator (MPP) within the KT Group, has merged with Media Genie. Through this merger, the group aims to unify its media business capabilities and elevate the ENA brand value, known for the hit series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," to 1 trillion KRW.

On the 1st, Skylife TV held a board meeting and resolved the merger plan with Media Genie. The merged entity will officially launch on November 1. Skylife TV will absorb Media Genie. The merged company's shares will be composed of 62.7% KT Skylife and 37.3% KT Studio Genie. Going forward, KT Skylife and KT Studio Genie plan to maintain close cooperation to strengthen Skylife TV's competitiveness as an MPP.

Following the merger decision, Skylife TV plans to centralize content production and programming around the ENA channel to achieve management efficiency and economies of scale. It is expected that strategic market responses will become possible as a single-channel corporation. The merged company intends to further enhance the ENA brand value through continuous investment and production of original content, while accelerating synergy creation with media affiliates within the KT Group.

Last October, KT Group incorporated Media Genie (formerly Hyundai Media), acquiring two broadcasting channel operator (PP) affiliates: Skylife TV and Media Genie. In April, they rebranded a total of 12 channels?7 owned by Skylife TV and 5 by Media Genie?by selecting competitive channels and categorizing targets and genres into four channel portfolios: ▲ENA ▲ENA Drama ▲ENA Play ▲ENA Story.

Since its launch in 2004, Skylife TV has garnered viewer acclaim by presenting popular variety shows such as "Erotic Couple," "Steel Troops," and "I am SOLO." After the birth of the ENA brand in April, it launched dramas like "No Goo Pil-soo," "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," and "Good Job," imprinting the channel brand's presence across the broadcasting market.

Yoon Yong-pil, CEO of Skylife TV-Media Genie, stated, “ENA is KT Group’s ‘one and only’ channel brand, dedicated to original content production to offer viewers more entertainment, fun, and emotion.” He added, “Based on accumulated killer content, Skylife TV will transform from an MPP operator into a global intellectual property (IP) business operator, raising the ENA brand value to around 1 trillion KRW within three years.”

Kim Cheol-soo, CEO of KT Skylife, said, “As the major shareholder of the merged company, we will solidify our role as a core axis for content distribution within the group, alongside continuous investment in securing original content for Skylife TV.” He also stated, “KT Skylife will actively explore new business models such as post-production utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT), in line with the mid-to-long-term growth strategy of becoming a ‘comprehensive media content platform,’ beyond the existing transmission agency business.”