Hana joins KT in IPTV remote control shopping

One more of the nation’s Internet protocol TV operators will soon add a service that allows subscribers to shop by pushing a few buttons on their remote controls.
Hanarotelecom, owner of Hana TV, the nation’s No. 1 IPTV operator, said yesterday in a release that the company has signed a deal with Aekyung Group so that its subscribers will be able to purchase Aekyung Department Store goods through IPTV service by the year’s second half.
Products of Samsung Mall, an online shopping mall operated by the Aekyung Group, will also be available via Hana TV. Mega TV, operated by KT, started its own IPTV shopping service last month.
IPTV subscribers are able to check product information for potential purchases through IPTV and even order and pay for the product by remote control.
Previously, consumers could only order goods with remote control through typical home shopping channels. If they wanted to know more about a product, they had to separately access the Internet.
Hana TV also plans to launch closed user group service, or CUG, for Aekyung Group employees via IPTV. CUG service would enable Aekyung employees to have their own broadcasting channel through which they can share information.
Currently Samsung Mall has 3 million members, and more than 4.7 million people visit the online shopping site every month.
According to Seoul-based Atlas Research and Consulting, more than 70 percent of households will watch TV using IPTV within five years.

By Sung So-young Staff Reporter [so@joongang.co.kr]