[2020 National Audit] SKT "No Confirmed Partnership with Disney+... Will Grow Domestic OTT"(Comprehensive)

Foreign OTT Partnerships Under Scrutiny
Contrasting Positions of SKT vs KT and LGU+

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] SK Telecom has stated regarding its partnership plans with Disney Plus that "nothing has been confirmed. We will partner when we can do so on equal footing."

At the national audit held on the 8th, Yoo Young-sang, head of SK Telecom's MNO business, who attended as a witness, said, "We will partner when we have sufficient equal power to do so." Yoo added, "We will prioritize investing in Wavve and strive to grow K-OTT," and said, "It is desirable to partner with foreign OTTs once K-OTT has grown."

KT, which is partnering with Netflix, expressed a different stance. Kang Guk-hyun, head of KT's Customer Division, responded to a question from Yoon Young-chan of the Democratic Party asking, "If KT partners with Netflix, how will you grow Season?" by explaining, "Season is a mobile OTT, so it is expanding mainly among KT mobile customers, while Netflix is mainly serviced through IPTV."

Kang added, "We will broaden customer choice by using foreign OTTs while also expanding our own OTT," and said, "As the subscriber base grows, there may be more capacity to invest in content."

Hwang Hyun-sik, president of LG Uplus, also said, "Because the subscriber base is small, it is difficult to invest while growing our own content. Realistically, we have no choice but to build competitiveness through partnership relationships."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.