KT, SK Broadband and LG U+ join forces in IPTV market

Korea’s three major IPTV service providers — KT, SK Broadband and LG U+ — are jointly investing 300 billion won ($230 million) to purchase content, the Korea IPTV Broadcasting Association (KIBA) said Friday.

The agreement between three IPTV companies is "to restore the content value chain which is collapsing due to market monopoly,” said KIBA.

Aggressive investments of foreign companies and the market dominance of overseas companies are hurting Korea’s content industry, according to KIBA.

Korea’s video streaming service market, which includes both IPTV and so-called over-the-top (OTT) services, is highly competitive.

IPTV, which stands for internet protocol television, is different from OTT, as the former uses a dedicated network whereas the latter is provided through a regular internet connection. Only the mobile carriers, which are the network operators, can provide IPTV services through their own network.

Though IPTV providers and OTT companies have been working together to offer joint services in some cases, the two are in competition, as global OTT service providers such as Netflix have been aggressively expanding investments and market share in recent years.

KT, SK Broadband and LG U+ will co-distribute “Alienoid Part 1” (2022), which is set for release in July, and plan to further enhance cooperation in other areas.

The companies are also discussing establishing a joint brand and running joint promotions for each company’s content, said KIBA.

The IPTV companies will execute the investment plan through a committee and expand the cooperation with content production companies and investors as well.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]