Terrestrial Broadcasters' Long-Awaited 'Mid-Roll Ads' Fully Allowed... Expansion of Programming Autonomy

KCC to Announce 'Market Revitalization Plan' on 13th
Full Approval of Mid-Roll Ads After 10 Years of Heated Debate
Empowering Terrestrial Broadcasters with Expanded Programming Autonomy

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The long-standing demand of terrestrial broadcasters for 'mid-roll commercials' will be fully permitted.

Terrestrial broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, and SBS will now be able to legally air advertisements during their programs. The programming regulations that mandated a fixed amount of news, dramas, and entertainment shows per day have also been relaxed, allowing broadcasters to have autonomy over their scheduling.

Mid-roll Commercials Allowed, Fulfilling Terrestrial Broadcasters' Wish

On the 13th, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced the 'Broadcast Market Revitalization Policy Plan' containing these measures. The core is the allowance of mid-roll commercials. While mid-roll TV commercials have been permitted on comprehensive programming channels for over a decade, they were prohibited on terrestrial channels until now. The KCC's stance is that mid-roll commercials should be allowed on terrestrial channels to resolve unfair competition among media outlets. The rapidly changing terrestrial broadcasting environment, including a sharp decline in advertising revenue, was also taken into consideration.

However, concerns remain that allowing mid-roll commercials may lead terrestrial broadcasters to become more commercially driven, potentially undermining their public service responsibilities as they chase ratings. Stakeholders such as comprehensive programming channels and pay TV providers hold sharply divided opinions, and debates over pros and cons are expected to intensify. Particularly, this plan includes many demands that terrestrial broadcasters have consistently raised, which is likely to spark controversy over the KCC's perceived favoritism toward terrestrial broadcasters.

Overall, broadcast advertising regulations will be minimized through a 'negative regulation' approach (principally permitted with exceptions prohibited). Unified standards will be established for separated programming commercials (PCM) and mid-roll commercials, and the types of advertisements will be simplified as part of a restructured integrated broadcast advertising regulatory system.

In the rapidly evolving media market, driven by online video services (OTT) such as YouTube and Netflix, the aim is to remove regulations that apply only to terrestrial broadcasters and strengthen their competitiveness. A KCC official explained, "The investment and innovation capacity of broadcasters who have led the Korean Wave are declining," adding, "This measure focuses on innovating outdated regulations in the broadcasting market and revitalizing it."

Reflecting Rapid Changes in the Broadcasting Market... Expansion of Programming Autonomy

The KCC also abolished the mandatory programming ratios introduced in the 1960s and maintained for over 50 years, allowing terrestrial broadcasters to autonomously schedule their programs. The obligation to air a minimum amount of news, dramas, and entertainment daily will be minimized to enable more flexible programming. The combined advertising sales system will also be revised. This system required advertisers placing ads on terrestrial broadcasters to also advertise on small and medium broadcasters, but it will be comprehensively reviewed as an 'excessive regulation.'

Additionally, the KCC plans to introduce an integrated audience share measurement to enhance the reliability of viewership data, which is expanding to include mobile platforms. To promote OTT activation, support for drama production costs and indirect content advertising expenses will be pursued. An expert council will be operated to ensure fair contracts between pay TV providers and content producers, and investigations into unfair practices will be strengthened.

Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the KCC, emphasized, "We will actively improve laws, unfair and discriminatory systems, and practices related to the broadcasting sector to prevent the management crisis in the domestic broadcasting market from leading to a weakening of the public value of broadcasting through institutional improvements." He added, "Concerns about the weakening of public service responsibilities due to deregulation will be continuously addressed and improved through ongoing communication with civil society, experts, and related industries."

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