Ministry of Science and ICT Grants Reauthorization to Three IPTV Companies Until 2030

Conditions for Disclosing PP Win-Win and Content Usage Fee Calculation Criteria

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 22nd that it has decided to renew the licenses of the three Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) providers?KT, SK Broadband, and LG Uplus?for seven years.

In accordance with Articles 4 and 5-2 of the 'Internet Multimedia Broadcasting Business Act,' the Ministry operated an IPTV license renewal review committee and conducted a closed review from the 5th to the 8th. To ensure expertise, objectivity, and fairness, the review committee was composed of external experts from six fields: broadcasting and telecommunications, media, law, management, accounting, technology, and viewers/consumers.

In the evaluation, out of a total of 500 points, KT scored 379.29 points, SK Broadband 385.54 points, and LG Uplus 368.53 points, all exceeding the renewal criteria of 350 points.

This license renewal review is the third since the initial licensing in 2008. Over the past 15 years, the three IPTV companies have operated their businesses into maturity, securing business stability. However, the paid broadcasting market remains stagnant due to the influence of global Over-The-Top (OTT) online video services. The review committee engaged in in-depth discussions regarding content usage fees, which are autonomously negotiated based on the principle of good faith between contracting parties in the paid broadcasting market, and the acquisition of high-quality content.

The Ministry of Science and ICT imposed conditions requiring the establishment and disclosure of content usage fee calculation standards and procedures based on objective data to ensure fair and reasonable distribution of content usage fees in the paid broadcasting market, as well as the annual submission of investment performance in high-quality content.

Additionally, the Ministry mandated the formulation of specific win-win measures with small and medium-sized broadcasting channel operators (PPs) and stipulated compliance with government guidelines such as the 'Guidelines on Reporting and Acceptance Procedures for Paid Broadcasting Terms and Conditions' and the regular operation of viewer committees to protect users.

Finally, a condition was imposed requiring approval from the Minister of Science and ICT for any changes to submitted business plans due to significant reasons such as changes in management strategy.

The Ministry issued the licenses on the same day, imposing the renewal conditions reflecting the review committee’s opinions. It plans to regularly monitor compliance with these conditions going forward.

Meanwhile, SK Broadband announced that, as part of its win-win activities with PPs, it will provide set-top box-based viewing data to PPs free of charge every month starting in September.