Ministry of Science and ICT Launches June Consultative Body... Accelerating Resolution of 'Pay TV vs. PP·Home Shopping' Conflicts

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The government has stepped in to mediate the conflict between pay-TV operators (IPTV, cable TV, satellite broadcasting) and broadcasting channel usage operators (PP) over program usage fees and home shopping transmission fees. The government plans to accelerate finding solutions for channel fee calculations through a consultative body in June and hold a public hearing in July to improve overall regulations in the pay-TV market.

On the 27th, Cho Kyung-sik, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, after attending the 'Pay-TV Industry Issues Meeting' held at the Cable TV Association in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, told reporters, “We will activate the consultative body to discuss the details.”

This meeting was organized to expand communication and mutual understanding between the government and the pay-TV industry and to seek ways for cooperation and coexistence amid growing conflicts among stakeholders over home shopping transmission fees and broadcasting content usage fees, due to recent market stagnation in pay-TV and intensified competition with global online video services (OTT). Attendees included heads of four related pay-TV associations, representatives from comprehensive wired broadcasting operators (SO), IPTV, home shopping, PP, and external experts.

Vice Minister Cho said, “To maintain and develop a healthy pay-TV ecosystem and promote the digital media content industry, the help of the pay-TV industry is absolutely necessary, and it is important to join forces. We will soon propose regulatory improvement measures for the entire pay-TV system and expedite preparations for media legislation reforms to align with the new broadcasting environment.”

Additionally, in connection with the government’s role in resolving conflicts between industries and proposing regulatory improvements, active cooperation will be made to prepare improvement plans for home shopping transmission fees and broadcasting content usage fee standards. For this purpose, regular discussions will be held within the ‘Pay-TV Operators-PP Win-Win Consultative Body.’

To this end, the government will first hold the 'Broadcast Channel Fee Calculation Council,' jointly operated with the Korea Communications Commission, next month to continue discussions related to content usage fee calculations. The council, launched in January, has held two meetings so far. The first meeting shared an understanding of the overall status of the pay-TV industry and the council’s purpose, and the second meeting heard opinions from individual operators. The government plans to summarize the current situation and continue discussions at the resumed meeting next month.

In July, a public hearing will also be held to improve pay-TV regulations. Oh Yong-soo, Director of Broadcasting Promotion Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “With the emergence of global OTTs and live commerce, there are areas in the existing pay-TV ecosystem regulations that need improvement. The public hearing will be conducted based on collecting opinions from operators regarding these issues.”

However, the government emphasized that it does not intend to strengthen regulations to restrict autonomous market competition as a result of this conflict. Director Oh said, “The government’s role is to provide some guidance to help resolve conflicts autonomously within the market. This does not mean legislative attempts or regulatory strengthening in itself.”

He also announced plans to prepare mid- to long-term broadcasting media legislative reform measures within the year. Director Oh explained, “The direction will be to significantly ease existing media regulations to a level comparable to global OTTs and live commerce.”

Furthermore, continuous discussions will be held regarding the number of home shopping channels in the lower channel number ranges of pay-TV operators, an issue persistently raised by the National Assembly and civic groups from the perspective of guaranteeing viewers’ rights. The industry agreed to avoid competition over home shopping transmission fees and channel numbers and instead focus more on protecting viewers’ interests.

However, the fact that the meeting only exchanged general opinions without detailed discussions was pointed out as a limitation. Regarding this, Director Oh said, “The purpose of today’s meeting was to discuss how to achieve cooperation and coexistence concerning conflicts such as transmission fees, and all participants agreed on this. We will share progress on practical matters related to individual issues going forward.”

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