KT Skylife and Hyundai Home Shopping Avoid Blackout... "Temporary Postponement"

After the conclusion of the Dae-ga Verification Council on the 20th

The planned blackout of Hyundai Home Shopping's broadcast on KT Skylife, scheduled for the 20th, has been temporarily postponed.

Hyundai Home Shopping announced through a notice on the same day, "Although the 'program transmission contract' with KT Skylife has ended, the schedule for the broadcast blackout will be temporarily postponed until after the conclusion of the fee verification consultative body, in accordance with the administrative guidance equivalent to the corrective order from the Ministry of Science and ICT."

This marks the second postponement of the blackout schedule. Hyundai Home Shopping and KT Skylife initially set the blackout date for the 20th of last month but extended it until this day to continue negotiations. Additionally, KT Skylife requested the Ministry of Science and ICT to form a fee verification consultative body on the 13th of last month. However, as the two parties failed to reach an agreement by the day before, it appears the blackout schedule has been temporarily delayed.

Hyundai Home Shopping reportedly requested a reduction in the high transmission fees and to move its channel number, currently positioned near the front, to a later slot. KT Skylife, on the other hand, demanded specific data for accurate transmission fee calculation and stated that changing the channel number is difficult since other broadcasting channel operators (PPs) have already signed contracts.

KT Skylife stated, "We believe Hyundai Home Shopping’s decision to temporarily postpone the broadcast blackout at this point is a fortunate choice for protecting viewers and fostering coexistence with small and medium-sized businesses operating home shopping channels. However, we deeply regret the possibility that the two prior blackout announcements were used as negotiation cards for private interests."