Ministry of Science and ICT: "Fostering OTT, Metaverse, and Creator Media as Growth Engines"

'2022 Next-Generation Media Week' Wraps Up... Expansion of K-Content and OTT

At the '2022 Next-Generation Media Week,' Hong Jin-bae, Director of Network Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, is delivering the opening address. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 6th that it has concluded the '2022 Next-Generation Media Week,' held over four days from the 1st at Nuri Dream Square in Sangam-dong.

The event was hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and jointly organized by the Korea Communications Agency (KCA), the Radio Promotion Association (RAPA), and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP).

During Next-Generation Media Week, under the theme "Transformation of Media and Content in the Era of Digital Great Transition," strategies were explored to expand three major digital media platforms that are shaking up the media and content industry landscape: Over-the-Top (OTT) online video services, metaverse media as a future platform, and creator media where young people unleash their boundless creativity.

The keynote speech addressed the global growth potential of domestic OTT. Dan Robins, Chief Marketing Advisor at global consulting firm PwC, projected that Korea’s OTT industry will grow at an average annual rate of 10% until 2026, becoming the fourth largest market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Yang Ji-eul, CEO of TVING, analyzed that considering Korea’s paid OTT subscription households account for 36% of total households?significantly lower than the United States’ 83%?there is ample growth potential and opportunity. He emphasized that a core strategy for the global growth of domestic OTT is for companies excelling in content, distribution, and marketing to form partnerships and actively collaborate based on the strengths of K-content to enhance competitiveness.

Regarding metaverse media, leading strategies were explored through case presentations from domestic and international companies. Industry participants showed great interest in cases such as Lulu AR, which directed augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology for the U.S. version of the masked singer show 'Alter Ego'; VA Corporation, which produces extended reality (XR) content based on hyper-realistic virtual production and utilizes digital assets; and VIVE Studios, which creates virtual humans. The importance of establishing a foundation to activate hyper-realistic virtual production and the media’s transition to the metaverse was emphasized.

For creator media, where young people demonstrate unlimited imagination, various monetization model cases utilizing creator intellectual property (IP) were introduced, and strategies for expanding business areas into the metaverse were explored. It was also suggested that creator media is a promising field for future jobs.

Events were also held for media startups to attract investment, for exchanges between media companies and information and communication technology (ICT) firms, and for broadcasting media job experiences.

Additionally, with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT, programs and startups that showed outstanding achievements in the media and content fields were selected and awarded the Minister of Science and ICT Award, among others. Winners included production company J-Wonder’s 'Hawaii’s Picture Brides' (Broadcast Content Grand Prize), Korea Educational Broadcasting System’s 'Entertainment Machine' (New Tech Convergence Content Grand Prize), U.S. KBFD-TV’s 'Great Heritage' (Overseas Korean Language Broadcasting Grand Prize), and Plica’s 'Plica Land,' a 3D metaverse event solution for enterprises (Digital Innovation Grand Prize).

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “OTT is shaking up the media and content landscape, and while Korean content is spreading through global OTT platforms, the metaverse is emerging as the media of the future, and young people are unleashing boundless creativity in creator media, significantly changing the media industry terrain. It is time to adopt OTT, metaverse media, and creator media as the three major digital media platforms and nurture them as new growth and export engines.”

Furthermore, the ministry said, “It is necessary to support content and OTT companies joining hands to create great stories and videos and actively enter overseas markets, to create marketplaces by implementing metaverse media at large-scale international events to consolidate ideas and attempt overseas expansion, and to discover new creators and support their entire growth cycle. Establishing a foundation that supports continuous growth of the media industry, such as expanding investment and advanced production infrastructure, is also important. We plan to establish strategies soon reflecting the diverse forms and future prospects of the three major digital media platforms examined at this event.”