LG U+ offers IPTV for the elderly

LG U+ is offering internet protocol TV (IPTV) for the elderly.

The new product was introduced Tuesday and comes after the mobile carrier debuted Kid’s World IPTV for children in 2017 and signed a deal for sourcing with Netflix, the U.S. video streaming company, in 2018.

“We now have a complete IPTV-service lineup for all generations,” said Lee Geon-yeong, a vice president at the home and media product unit of LG U+ during a press briefing in Seoul Tuesday.

According to LG U+, the smallest carrier in the country, target customers - aged between 55 and 64 - have the purchasing power and the will to invest in their well-being, unlike previous generations of seniors, which tended to focus on saving up money for their children.

“At the same time, they are still mostly reliant on TV as a medium to learn new information,” Lee said. “It is quite a big market too considering they account for 15.5 percent of the population.”

U+tv Bravo Life has six programming categories, including health, travel, smartphone use tips and job training.

Considering most people in their 50s and 60s are interested in managing their health, LG U+ has created original videos in partnership with doctors from Seoul National University Hospital. Lee said offering reliable health tips to seniors is one of the most important roles of the platform as the internet currently offers too much information not based on facts.

For the travel section, LG U+ has gathered documentaries, TV programs and YouTube videos and organized the programs by country, so viewers can easily access information about travel destinations.

Once the 5G network is more widely commercialized for mobile devices in March, LG U+ will offer videos with 360-degree views of each travel destination using augmented and virtual reality technologies.

Quick tips on how to better operate smartphones - using Google Maps and booking an airline ticket using Skyscanner app, for example - are offered on the smartphone usage tips channels.

In terms of job training, LG U+ has made videos about people starting new careers after retirement. They feature individuals who became baristas, calligraphers and forest guides late in life.

The senior-focused IPTV platform emphasizes green, a color known to be relaxing for eyes, and uses fonts 30 percent larger than other LG U+ IPTV platforms.

Lee said the company has created roughly 158 original videos so far for U+tv Bravo Life, but he said the company is not planning to produce dramas or TV shows of its own.

“We created content of our own because the programs are not available yet, but once more useful content is in the market, we will source more from outside the company,” Lee said.

LG U+ is likely to focus on its IPTV business as a future growth engine. While the carrier is expected to decide on acquiring cable TV company CJ Hello this week at earliest, the team up would make LG U+ the second largest player in the domestic paid TV market - which includes the IPTV, cable TV and satellite TV businesses.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]