SEOUL, South Korea,
Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KT
Corporation, South Korea's largest
telecommunications service provider, is strengthening its media
contents business through its subsidiaries and affiliates as the
company transforms itself into the global platform for the next
generation of connectivity, media and technologies.
skyTV, KT's media content distribution unit, and global media
leader Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. established a
joint venture, Studio Discovery, in January to create original
contents. The new venture is owned by skyTV with a 30 percent stake
and Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. holding the rest.
Studio Discovery will start producing original content as the
global projects between skyTV and Discovery Networks. The
partnership provides KT SkyLife Co., KT's satellite broadcasting
subsidiary and the majority shareholder of skyTV, another excellent
channel for audiences to enjoy original content at home and
abroad.
"We will continue to expand its global partnership for the next
media platform to provide the best contents for all the viewers
around the world," skyTV CEO Yoon
Yong-Phil said. "skyTV and Discovery Networks will soon
unveil their first global projects produced by Studio
Discovery."
KT SkyLife has been expanding its library since it acquired a
9.9 percent stake in Studio & NEW, a leading content production
company in South Korea, in January
this year.
KT's skyTV and Discovery Networks to Showcase New
Programs
skyTV plans to offer subscribers an array of genres in
collaboration with Discovery Networks through Studio Discovery. To
build up original content, the studio has recruited several program
directors credited with producing Korea's representative
entertainment shows.
Studio Discovery will produce at least two new shows within this
year, which will be simultaneously programmed on skyTV's channels,
SKY and NQQ, as well as Discovery Channel Korea. The new shows will
be streamed in advance by Seezn, KT's over-the-top (OTT) service in
South Korea.
The first broadcasting show is "STRANGERS IN LOVE," followed by
a cooking competition program, titled "RESTAURANT WITHOUT BORDERS." The second show is intended to provide
viewers with an opportunity to view foreign cuisine at a time when
the COVID-19 pandemic has halted international tourism. Chefs from
different countries will introduce a variety of foods of the
world.
skyTV is also honing the competitive edge of its channels, with
"Weplay Season 2" and "Doomed Marriage" keeping high viewer ratings
and being much talked about by the viewers. The company will try to
boost its image as a provider of high quality entertainment by
steadily supplying original content tailored to viewer needs.
KT to Launch Content Value Chain for Media Contents
Business
Storywiz Co., a content creator subsidiary of KT, is also
gearing up its efforts to become a leading provider of media
contents, securing intellectual property rights to web fiction and
webcomic for the production of new contents.
Storywiz plans to invest 10 billion
won initially and more in creating a full-fledged system,
including a studio for intellectual property planning and
production, investment, assisting distribution and development of
"one-source-multi-use" contents.
In an effort to turn itself into an operator of communication
network-based platforms, KT also is planning to launch a content
value chain of intellectual property acquisition, production and
distribution.
Storywiz will assist KT in pursuing its endeavor to provide
intellectual property and original contents by recruiting web
novelists, securing intellectual property, and producing and
distributing "one-source-multi-use" contents, including webcomics,
dramas and movies.
"One-source-multi-use" is the trend in the entertainment content
market. It refers to the use of a single original work for
production of multiple contents, such as webcomic, drama, movie,
game, musical and others.
To secure intellectual property rights to original works,
Storywiz will adopt a Hollywood-style collective production system
for creation of web fiction, dividing the work process into minute
steps, including data analysis, planning, writing and editing, to
secure "super intellectual property rights" to webcomic, drama and
cinema contents.
MEDIA CONTACTS
For inquiries, please contact our Foreign Media Relations Team
at kt.fmrt@gmail.com
ABOUT KT CORPORATION (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT)
KT Corp., Korea's largest telecommunications service provider,
is leading the new era of innovations in one of the world's most
connected countries with 5G, Big Data, Cloud, IoT, Blockchain and
other transformative technologies. KT launched the world's first
nationwide commercial 5G network in April
2019, after showcasing the first trial 5G services at the
PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February
2018. To help cope with COVID-19, KT is staging a social
campaign, dubbed "Ma-Eum:TACT (Heart to Heart)," providing
technology supports for people and businesses in need. KT will
deliver most essential and innovative services and solutions to its
customers around the world as the first frontier in the next
technology revolution and number one Global ICT Company.
- For more information, please visit our English website at
https://corp.kt.com/eng/
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SOURCE KT Corp.