KT Spreads Its Digico Wings... Also Produces Soccer Variety Show

Sky Sports Asset Spin-off
Establishment of JV with K League Federation

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] KT is strengthening its sports content competitiveness to leap forward as a digital platform company (Digico). Moving beyond simple sports broadcasting functions, it is directly engaging in producing football entertainment and educational programs to build content self-sustainability.

On the 4th, KT announced that its subsidiary SkyTV will spin off its sports specialty channel 'Sky Sports' and establish a joint venture (JV) with the Korea Professional Football League, which will invest cash to operate a K League-focused broadcasting channel.

KT will support the production of K League broadcasts by leveraging the media platform capabilities within the group and information and communication technology (ICT). Furthermore, it will expand beyond simple broadcasting to new content formats such as football education programs and sports entertainment shows.

Through this collaboration, the two companies plan to grow Sky Sports into a comprehensive sports channel centered on professional football content. Sky Sports has exclusively broadcast the German Bundesliga since 2012, showcasing matches featuring Son Heung-min from Hamburg and Leverkusen. It began broadcasting K League 2 in 2019 and expanded its reach last year with K League 1 broadcasts. It also has a history of broadcasting baseball and tennis, including the official KBO broadcast channel and the ATP World Tour tennis global broadcasts.

This change is closely related to KT's 탈 (?) telecommunications policy. In the first half of this year, KT will establish KT Studio Genie, a content-specialized corporation, to enhance the competitiveness of the group’s media platform based on 12 million subscribers. It will oversee a total of nine media business companies, including SkyTV.

KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo stated, "We will mobilize the KT Group media platform capabilities based on 12 million subscribers to allow all Korean citizens to vividly enjoy the excitement of the game venues from their living rooms."

Meanwhile, senior KT executives also attended the signing ceremony held this morning. Attendees included KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, Kang Guk-hyun, President of KT Customer Division, Yoon Yong-pil, President of SkyTV, and Kwon Oh-gap, President of the Korea Professional Football League.

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