Way Cleared for IPTV

A special committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill on Internet Protocol Television, clearing the way for the new media service in Korea. IPTV enables viewers to search information for items they see on TV and even buy them without interrupting the program they are watching. Seong Jang-hyun, a manager with the KT Media division preparing for the launch of the service, said a full IPTV is possible in the first half of next year.
KT and Hanaro Telecom are already operating the MegaTV and HanaTV services, an early stage of IPTV.
This reporter visited the KT Media building at Yeouido in Seoul on Wednesday morning to experience the IPTV test service. When KT staff pushed buttons on a remote control, the online Chosun Ilbo appeared on TV. The service also enables viewers to search articles. For example, if a viewer types the word “restaurant” into the remote, all relevant articles that contain search term are displayed on the TV. People can trade stocks in real time, just as they can on their computers.
Then there are weather forecasts specifically for the region where the viewers live -- or a stadium of golf club they want to visit -- unlike existing forecasts that cover only major cities. The service figures out where a viewer lives through the IP number. HanaTV, which was launched ahead of MegaTV, already provides 70,000 programs to call up, and over 700,000 subscribers can enjoy each program at a time. Currently, the monthly subscription fee is W13,000 (US$1=W929) for HanaTV and W10,000 for MegaTV. When the full IPTV service starts, the subscription fee is likely to rise, but the full service will provide a greater variety of programs as well as live terrestrial programs plus more additional services.
Another distinctive feature of IPTV is the wide range of channels. Unlike the existing TV broadcast services, IPTV is technically able to produce limitless number of channels. KT plans to open channels for internal corporate broadcasting and missionary work. Recently, Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak pledged to improve public education by providing various education programs through IPTV. Students can watch various segmented education programs according to grade or degree of difficulty and subject. Hanaro is considering airing a market program where viewers can sell goods by broadcasting video clips of them.
IPTV will not only change various aspects of our lives but also boost the economy. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute says IPTV will generate additional production worth W12.9 trillion and create 73,000 jobs within five years after the launch.
Since KT and Hanaro are already advancing into the IPTV business, it seems inevitable that the existing cable TV broadcasters will have to compete with these giants. Some cable TV broadcasters say the government is driving small and medium-sized cable networks to the brink by giving preferential benefits to large enterprises.
That is why the National Assembly set a limit for IPTV market share that bans a single company from holding a share of over one-third of the total market in a specific region. The Korean Cable TV Association said cable TV networks will compete with IPTV with their own expertise in pay-TV and HD broadcasting.
(englishnews@chosun.com )