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Tag: TU Media Corp

  • Korean mobile broadcasting odyssey begins

    Korean mobile broadcasting odyssey begins

    CANNES: The future unwound at the Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting Showcases and business panel at the Palais this afternoon with the West and the East putting forth their offerings marrying content and technology.

    The Koreans, who have been in the limelight this MIP, went for it first. Korean KBS’ Seung Kyu Lee detailed the country’s plans of the DMB system – both the terrestrial version, already running, and the satellite version, which is slated to hit the market by 1 May.

    Lee described the potential of the Korean market, which has 10 million car owners and 35 million mobile phone owners, who would be targeted with VCD quality video, CD quality audio and value-added data services.

    According to the business model presented by Lee, 2005, the year of launch would see only traditional advertisements on video, but 2006 would see ads on data service, banners as well as location based ads.

    By 2007, Lee says, it would be full-fledged DMB commerce, with interactive services, scalable video services and customised services for clients. Lee’s revenue estimate for the the terrestrial DMB service is around $751 million by 2007.

    TU Media Corp’s Hoekyun Ahn shared the key findings of the research that has preceded the launch of the satellite DMB. While the average Korean watches TV for 160 minutes every day and listens to radio for an average 48 minutes, the SDMB tests revealed that SDMB had an attention of 114 minutes from viewers every day, in four blocks of 28 minutes each.

    The weekend viewing pattern is slightly different from the weekdays, as there is also complementary use of TV along with the mobile devices that SDMB offers, Lee said.

  • DMB operator TU Media Corp starts mobile TV service trial

    MUMBAI: Watching television on mobile phones through satellite while travelling in a car or a train. That is what Korean digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) operator TU Media Corp is looking to achieve. It has started a trial mobile television service through satellite. Samsung Electronics made a related statement saying that it will launch the first DMB mobile phone in Korea.

    Media reports state that the advantage of DMB is its versatility. Through a DMB service, viewers can watch video clips and listen to radio programmes transmitted via satellite to mobile phones, PDAs, or car monitors.

    TU Media is trying out nine out of a total of 35 DMB channels. There are three video channels – YTN news, CJ Media??s M-net, and a drama channel. There are also six audio channels playing the latest Korean pop, US pop, Korean oldies, American oldies, chart toppers, and Jazz & World.

    The company issued a staement saying that during the test run, it will make sure that the machines and system operate smoothly, and find out the most common places and time periods for customers to use the service. In accordance with Korea Broadcasting Commission regulations and policies, TU Media will roll out the full-scale service in May.

    Customers of SK Telecom which claims to be Korea’s largest mobile operator, can access the television services after purchasing Samsung.’s new SCH-B100 mobile phone. This features a 2.2-inch liquid-crystal display and a battery capable of providing more than two hours of viewing time.

    The challenge that TU Media will face is that its satellite-based mobile television services is a concept being done for the first time. So there are no past experiences to learn from.

    For its commercial service, TU Media plans to provide 14 video and 24 audio channels with a data channel scheduled for release next year. The company has completed building its central broadcast center and installed 4,800 gap-fillers across Korea last year. Reports indicate that it plans to invest 705 $667 million over the next five years to develop mobile content and expand programme production facilities.