2009 IPTV Race to Bag Potential Subscribers with Real-time Broadcast Service
2009 IPTV Race to Bag Potential Subscribers with Real-time Broadcast Service
  • Jeong Hae-yoon
  • 승인 2009.02.23 18:56
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

The day has finally come when Koreans can also participate in the real-time IPTV revolution. Koreans can now use 50 inch TVs like computers with touchpad screens.

The TV with its traditional antennas, cable box, and satellite dish is an endangered species. Television content is now being delivered by broadband Internet lines and set-top boxes, and by simply connecting a keyboard to the TV you can surf the Internet on your giant TV screen.

IPTV has come a long way as a lonely fighter. It took two years to pass the IPTV Act, another year to allow for real-time broadcasting, and all together about five years to commercialize the service in Korea.

Korea's initial hope was for all chefs at the IPTV stove to stop having petty arguments about who is going to get to put in the proverbial tenderloin and who is going to operate the proverbial spoon. When this wish came true with the pass of the IPTV Act, whole new challenges began. Since there were no specific laws dealing with the format for broadcasting, the government has not allowed IPTV services to provide real-time broadcasting in order to prevent protests from traditional broadcasters. As a result, IPTV services had a 12 hour delay in broadcasting local dramas and they didn't have live news or sports programs. However, real-time broadcasting has just been thrown into the pot to be cooked just two weeks ago. Interactive IPTV shopping, however, is still stuck in the hell's kitchen that is stifling IPTV's fighting spirit.

In 2008, KT, Hanaro Telecom and LG Dacom started a cook-off to win the prize of IPTV commercialization. While the promotion of a free IPTV trial period bagged some subscribers, the real time broadcasting service bill has passed. Leading telecommunication companies like LG Dacom, KT, and Korea Digital Broadcasting are expected to show more competition in 2009 with the upgraded bills and policies.

But in spite of tremendous achievements last year, content has a long way to go to satisfy the handful of subscribers companies fought so hard to attract last year. If Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MNVOs), network operators, and non-network groups are chefs in this hell's kitchen, the meals they will put on the table will decide the winner. And the meat, of course, is the content. As long as policies and regulations are shaped to encourage fair competition and give equal support, operators with the most innovative content and business models will likely be the kings of the IPTV kitchen in the year 2009. The future of the IPTV market is tasty.

LG Dacom best-poised to take advantage

The subscribers of LG Dacom's IPTV service, called myLGtv, have surpassed the ten thousand mark after only two weeks from the launch of real-time broadcasting. At present, myLGtv Real Time Broadcasting provides its high-speed Internet service Xpeed to customers in Seoul and the surrounding regions with 30 channels, and LG is planning to double its channels by the end of March.

LG Dacom reported that the cause of its successful launch could be attributed to its money-saving features for household communication expenses and the strong zeal of Korean parents in their 30's and 40's.

According to recent data released by LG Dacom, people aged 30 to 39 were the largest age group of its subscribers. The most preferred service form was the Triple Play Service (TPS), and the primary purpose was for children's education. TPS is a unique service that provides LG's super-speed Internet service Xpeed, telephone coverage with myLG070, and the myLGtv IPTV services program through a single circuit.

IPTV brings an interactive experience to the living room for the whole family
Specifically, 48% of LG's subscribers are in their 30s, followed by 30% in their 40s, 11% in their 50s, 8% twenty-some- things, and 3% in other age categories. There are more men than women, with 65% men and 35% women overall. TPS is the most popular service with 70% of the subscriber base, while the other 30% are on DPS, which is a combination of LG's myLGtv and Xpeed services. A survey of 100 subscribers in their 30's by LG found that 48% of its customers decided to subscribe to the service for their children's education, 26% for high-definition TV, 22% for the cheaper price, and 5% for other reasons.

LG Dacom is currently providing these services only in Seoul and the surrounding area. As soon as it is done negotiating with local broadcasting companies, LG Dacom is going to be able to serve nationwide, which of course means a higher rate of subscription.

“LG Dacom will satisfy its customers' needs with HD-class content and more user-friendly interfaces,” said Ahn Sungjoon, the director of LG Dacom myLGtv.

Merger to create giant LG Dacom rival

The merger of KT and KTF is also likely to strengthen the IPTV industry. According to Kim Dong-joon, an analyst at Good Morning Shinhan Securities, the affiliation will create a telecommunications giant, and dramatic changes in the domestic telecommunication and broadcasting market are expected. He also said that these changes will live up to the aggressive management policies of the Lee Myung-bak administration by bringing about increased investment, convergent IPTV services, Internet telephony, and WiBro.

He emphasized that IPTV paired up with terrestrial broadcasting is going to play an active role in the market being utilized through various media sectors and hopefully establish a foundation for longterm growth.

He also mentioned that it was a big step for KT to separate its head media office, which deals with the overall IPTV business, from others.

In the investment field, the Big 3 in IPTV business are expected to increase their investment by 30% from the previous year, and among those KT is projected to inject 1.7 trillion won by 2012, the largest total amount. KT's anticipated investment into each sector consists of 36% of networks, 28% of content, and 28% of set-top boxes.

SkyLife adjusts to new paradigm

Korea Digital Broadcasting, or SkyLife, announced on January 27 that it would be entering an emergency management system to cope with the economic recession and extremely competitive business environment. It required 10% of the wages of the members of the board and CEO to be returned, and disposable expenses such as travel allowances and operation charges will be slashed drastically. A 50% cut of outlays for advertisement and suspension of the intra-company magazine will be carried out, and primary channels are going to be shut down. Even though SkyLife is minimizing its wear and tear expenses, it plans to strengthen its high quality HD broadcasting strategy through proper execution of its budget.


댓글삭제
삭제한 댓글은 다시 복구할 수 없습니다.
그래도 삭제하시겠습니까?
댓글 0
댓글쓰기
계정을 선택하시면 로그인·계정인증을 통해
댓글을 남기실 수 있습니다.

  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT US
  • SIGN UP MEMBERSHIP
  • RSS
  • 2-D 678, National Assembly-daero, 36-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Korea (Postal code: 07257)
  • URL: www.koreaittimes.com | Editorial Div: 82-2-578- 0434 / 82-10-2442-9446 | North America Dept: 070-7008-0005 | Email: info@koreaittimes.com
  • Publisher and Editor in Chief: Monica Younsoo Chung | Chief Editorial Writer: Hyoung Joong Kim | Editor: Yeon Jin Jung
  • Juvenile Protection Manager: Choul Woong Yeon
  • Masthead: Korea IT Times. Copyright(C) Korea IT Times, All rights reserved.
ND소프트