Cable TV Broadcasting Association Seeks to Revitalize 'Digital Service Platform'

Workshop Held at 'SO Summit 2022'

SO Summit 2022. Photo by Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Soo-yeon] The Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association announced on the 12th that at the 'SO Summit 2022 (SO SUMMIT 2022)' workshop, it discussed next year's business plans and sought to relaunch as a ‘Digital Service Platform (DSP)’ beyond the cable TV business domain.

On the same day, the association held the SO SUMMIT 2022 workshop at the Seoul Garden Hotel, attended by CEOs and executives of comprehensive wired broadcasting operators (SO) nationwide.

Lee Jong-kwan, Senior Researcher at Sejong Law Firm, in his presentation titled ‘Cable TV Vision and Survival Strategy in the Era of Great Transformation,’ stated, “We must break away from the concept of broadcasting and promote the transition to a media platform business operator,” adding, “Operators should escape the perception of being policy-dependent, increase policy attention, and improve services by expanding networks.”

In the second presentation, Kim Hong-ik, Managing Director of LG HelloVision and chair of the SO New Business Task Force (TF), said, “This year, we have received and discussed a total of 14 new business proposals from SOs,” and explained, “We are gathering ideas to create opportunities for preventing subscriber churn and generating added value, ranging from 5G specialized network services applicable regionally, joint operation of TV commerce malls, to support projects for elderly dementia patients.”

The third presenter, Lee Young-guk, Director of Homechoice, explained the schedule for securing new growth engines beyond regional operators through the launch of ‘OCHOICE,’ an integrated mobile VOD platform for SOs, and ‘GAZI,’ a regional news integrated platform, to respond to content consumption trends centered on online video services (OTT) and mobile.

Lee stated, “The OTT usage rate trend has risen from 52% in 2019 to nearly 70% in 2021,” and shared the vision to “undertake a great transformation by locking in subscribers, creating new users, and expanding the service targets and areas through mobile VOD and the regional news integrated platform.”

In the final presentation, Professor Kim Yong-hee of Dongguk University said, under the theme ‘Cases and Implications for Overcoming SO Crisis,’ that cable TV operators must reinvent themselves as ‘comprehensive solution providers’ offering platforms, networks, and devices that customers desire. He also emphasized the need to establish a ‘regional economic revitalization support system’ connecting the government, local governments, and public institutions.

Professor Kim advised, “Through local resident participation and network-based resource sharing, cable TV operators can integrally provide high-quality social services that meet the needs and demands of local communities. However, since it is difficult for cable TV operators to possess all the required technologies alone to build such an ecosystem, it is important to create a stable partner marketplace that can provide necessary solutions locally.”

Lee Rae-woon, Chairman of the Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association, said, “This summit discussed the development and concretization of the transformation into a lifestyle platform, which was discussed last year,” adding, “The association will do its best to support creating an ecosystem where operators’ efforts and diverse ideas can be loved by local residents.”