Satellite-based mobile television off to a fast start

TU Media Corp., the country`s only satellite-based mobile television broadcaster, said it attracted more than 50,000 customers one month after starting commercial services.

The company launched its satellite-based mobile television service May 1, allowing subscribers to watch television on their mobile devices while on the move.

"We are gathering a daily average of about 1,500 customers and we hope marketing to pick up with electronics makers expanding their handset lineups. If we can keep this up, we are on track to achieve our goal of gathering 600,000 customers by the year`s end," said a TU Media spokesman.

TU Media, 30 percent owned by the largest mobile-phone operator SK Telecom Co., offers seven video and 20 radio channels to its customers. The company had provided its subscribers free services through May as a marketing gimmick.

TU Media expects momentum to pick up after it starts providing services to mobile operators KT Freetel Co. and LG Telecom Ltd. in July.

Mobile television services, dubbed by Korean officials as digital multimedia broadcasting, are designed to beam digital television, audio and data to handheld devices via satellite or land-based television airwaves.

TU Media received a license for the satellite-based services last year. In March, the government allocated six licenses for the land-based services, including three spots to the country`s major television stations - KBS, MBC and SBS.

TU Media is targeting 600,000 to 700,000 customers by the end of this year and expects to break even when it gathers about 5.5 million customers, which it believes will happen four to five years from now.

Industry watchers had expected TU Media to face an uphill battle in attracting customers as they struggle to secure a significant content pool. The country`s main land-based television stations have said they will not provide their programs to TU Media, despite the Korean Broadcasting Commission`s decision to allow land-based television programs on satellite-based broadcast networks.

TU Media is now expanding their partnership with cable television operators and digital content developers as an alternative.

TU Media spent 120 billion won last year to install 4,800 gap-fillers in 26 cities nationwide, including the major cities of Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Daegu, Ulsan and Gwangju, to enable reception in main areas.

Through the additional investment, the company hopes to expand its coverage to 58 cities by the end of the year. TU Media will spend around 705 billion won in the next five years to develop their services.

Contrary to the faster-than-expected start of satellite-based mobile television, the outlook seems less promising for the land-based mobile television sector, with broadcasters and handset developers conflicting over transmission systems and network architecture.

"It will be hard for land-based operators to start trial services by July," said an SK Telecom official.

(thkim@heraldm.com)



By Kim Tong-hyung