KT rebrands its IPTV service as Genie TV

Kang Kook-hyun, head of the customer business group at KT, speaks at a press conference at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun in central Seoul on Tuesday. [KT]

KT rebranded its IPTV service as Genie TV, 11 years after the Olleh TV brand was introduced.

The rebranding is part of the telecom’s aggressive effort to push forward its content business as growth in the traditional telecom sector slows.

“At the center of KT’s media ecosystem is Genie TV, which was renamed today,” said Kang Kook-hyun, head of the customer business group at KT, at a press conference at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun in central Seoul on Tuesday.

“With a massive amount of data generated from 9 million subscribers and content, Genie TV takes the role of a growth engine, boosting the virtuous cycle in KT’s media ecosystem,” said Kang.

The user interface has been overhauled with new features to enhance access to other video streaming services and a personalized content recommendation system.

“Genie TV will serve as a media portal,” said Kang. “It will offer customers VOD [video on demand] and other diverse content such as global OTT [over-the-top] content, music videos, and TV apps.”

KT said its plan is to work with its so-called OTT rivals instead of competing with them.

“We concluded that in order for us to survive in the Korean market, the answer is to co-exist and collaborate with OTT services instead of competing with them,” said Kim Hoon-bae, head of media platform business at KT, during the Q. and A. session with the press.

The user interface update will begin Tuesday, and the company will introduce a new set-up box early next year.

KT has been trying to diversify its business outside the telecom sector with a focus on media content. The company hopes to achieve 5 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in revenue from the content and media business by 2025, from from last year's 3.2 trillion won.

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