[Click eStock] "LG U+, Differentiation through Specialization in Children & Family Content"

IPTV Revenue Per Subscriber Surpasses Competitors

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] LG Uplus is accelerating its IPTV business with content for children and families. Despite having a somewhat lagging subscriber base compared to competing telecom companies, it is analyzed that LG Uplus has created a meaningful three-way competitive structure.

On the 17th, Hyundai Motor Securities maintained its 'Buy' rating and target price of 18,000 KRW for LG Uplus based on this background. The closing price the previous day was 14,100 KRW.

They particularly emphasized the need to pay attention to LG Uplus's content differentiation strategy. LG Uplus is accelerating its family-oriented specialized strategy by strengthening collaborations with Disney Plus (+), KidZania, and Legoland, building on the differentiated children's content foundation established by 'Idul Nara' (Children's Country). Idul Nara, which includes services such as Book Reading TV, English Kindergarten, and Woongjin Book Club TV, has already surpassed 43 million cumulative users and received favorable reviews from users. Additionally, through the exclusive IPTV launch of Disney+, released on the 12th, LG Uplus has significantly strengthened its children and family content.

Among the three IPTV providers, LG Uplus has the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) in the 20,000 KRW range, which is interpreted as a result of this strategy. In the third quarter, LG Uplus's IPTV ARPU was 21,000 KRW, exceeding KT's 17,400 KRW by more than 20%. Hyundai Motor Securities researcher Kim Hyun-yong explained, "The B2C subscriber ratio is overwhelmingly high, and pay-per-view (PPV) revenue centered on children and family content greatly surpasses competitors." He added, "Although the net increase in IPTV subscribers is at a similar level among the three companies, LG Uplus has created a meaningful three-way competitive structure despite its weaker subscriber base, which is also positive."

Dividend policy has also emerged as a competitive advantage. LG Uplus has a basic policy of distributing more than 30% of its separate net income as dividends. This year, net income is expected to exceed 800 billion KRW, with total dividends expected to surpass 240 billion KRW. The annual dividend per share is 550 KRW (including an interim dividend of 200 KRW already paid), corresponding to a dividend yield of 4%. Researcher Kim forecasted, "As 5G adoption expands next year, ARPU and profits will continue to increase, so the dividend per share will rise to 600-650 KRW, and the dividend yield will approach 4.5%."

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