Ministry of Science and ICT "Supporting 143 Content Productions This Year... 37 OTT-Specialized Works"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 22nd the selection of 143 works for the '2021 Broadcasting Content Production Support' in collaboration with the Korea Communications Agency and the Korea Radio Promotion Association.

This initiative aims to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic broadcasting and media content and promote the co-growth of platforms, with a total project budget of 21.2 billion KRW.

First, the Ministry of Science and ICT will expand production support for new types of content that can be distributed across various platforms such as web and mobile. In the newly established OTT-specialized category this year, a total of 37 works in cross-media and short-form (short video) fields were selected. All are planned for distribution on OTT platforms.

Specifically, in the cross-media category, 21 works were selected including MBC C&I Co., Ltd.'s 'Manyeodeul Season 2,' produced as a wavve original content, and CJ ENM Co., Ltd.'s 'Donwori Salgu,' scheduled for distribution on TVING. In the short-form category, 16 works received support, including Daewon Broadcasting Co., Ltd.'s children's educational program 'Jikyeoju Cleanman!' and CNTV Co., Ltd.'s black comedy entertainment 'Danpyeon Sok-ui Danmyeon.'

Additionally, to discover and support high-quality large-scale projects, the Ministry of Science and ICT selected SBS Co., Ltd.'s new entertainment format 'Loud' in the newly established New Hallyu Premium Content category this year. It will be distributed not only via broadcast but also on the OTT platform wavve.

In the overseas expansion category, 24 works (12 international co-productions and 12 long-format supports) were selected, and 2 works were chosen in the broadcasting and telecommunications cooperation agreement implementation category.

Among the international co-productions, Andong MBC Co., Ltd.'s 'Geunyeoreul Malhada' is a joint production program with a Chinese broadcaster focusing on pioneering women in Korea and China, expected to serve as a medium to strengthen Korea-China exchange and cooperation commemorating the 30th anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations next year. Additionally, KP Communication's 'Yokmang-ui Yeoksa Yangnyeom Jeonjaeng' will be co-produced with a Vietnamese broadcaster.

In the long-format support category, children's programs themed on traditional Korean music such as Jaeneung Broadcasting's 'Nuriga Deungsil Asasak,' Dong-A TV's 'Oh My Gat! Yori Jori,' and KCTV Jeju Broadcasting's 'Halman Reper: Ieodosa-na' were selected as support targets and will be nurtured as representative content of small and medium broadcasters.

Furthermore, a total of 60 works, including 53 excellent public and public interest programs on various themes such as environment, history, safety, and post-COVID-19 society, as well as 7 Korean dubbing works, will also receive production support.

The Ministry of Science and ICT also selected 16 works in the ultra-high-definition category and 3 works in the experimental challenge category to promote high-quality content production and encourage creative planning incorporating new technologies. Among the ultra-high-definition selections, 6 contents including KBS's documentary 'The Birth of the Korean Peninsula: 3 Billion Years of Secrets' and Finestory's drama 'Naemsaega Nanda' will be produced in 8K UHD. This is expected to be an opportunity to elevate domestic ultra-high-definition content production technology to the next level.

Selected works in the experimental challenge category, such as JTBC Co., Ltd.'s 'A.C 1 Year,' will showcase content incorporating various ICT new technologies like virtual studios, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence through production support.

Oh Yong-su, Broadcasting Promotion Policy Officer at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “In the digital media market expanding through borderless OTT competition, if you have excellent content production capabilities, you can face new opportunities rather than crises,” and added, “We will continue active support so that domestic broadcasters, production companies, and OTT platforms can jointly enter the global market based on content competitiveness.”

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