Tving Expands Globally... Yang Ji-eul: "K-OTT Needs Policy and Regulation Discussions Centered on Innovation"

Yang Ji-eul, CEO of TVING, Proposes Five Policy Recommendations Including the Introduction of a Voluntary Rating Classification System at the 'Digital Media Content Promotion Forum'

Yang Ji-eul, CEO of TVING, stated at the 6th meeting of the 'Digital Media Content Promotion Forum' held on the afternoon of the 21st at the Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center in Seoul, "Innovation-centered policies and regulations must be discussed for the development of K-OTT." Photo by Cha Min-young

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] "There is a need for competition policies and regulatory discussions centered on innovation in the digital media content industry."

Yang Ji-eul, CEO of TVING, urged this during the 6th meeting of the 'Digital Media Content Promotion Forum' held on the afternoon of the 21st at the Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center in Seoul, saying, "Please consider applying the policy of 'equal support and regulation domestically and globally,' which has been the growth engine of global OTTs."

Yang Ji-eul, who delivered the presentation that day, began by introducing TVING's global roadmap. According to TVING, they launched services in Japan and Taiwan at the end of 2022, plan to expand into North America and Southeast Asia after 2024, and aim to enter more than 10 countries after 2025.

CEO Yang emphasized, "TVING is receiving many love calls worldwide to the extent that we say we are 'pushed into the global market' like singer Psy's 'Gangnam Style,'" adding, "We will utilize CJ ENM's global network to grow the market itself and create a virtuous cycle structure rather than entering alone."

As policy suggestions for the growth of K-OTT, he listed five measures: ▲ introduction of a self-rating classification system for smooth content supply ▲ reconsideration of the appropriateness of collecting development funds from OTT operators ▲ preparation of copyright system improvement plans considering the ripple effects of revisions ▲ utilization of the mother fund and regulatory improvements to strengthen K-OTT competitiveness ▲ review of domestic content industry investment resource securing plans.

Yang said, "OTT is an industry where timeliness is crucial, and immediate supply is very important, but since the self-rating classification system has not been introduced, reviews take about 3 to 5 months and there is unpredictability," adding, "There are cases where promised content cannot be delivered to customers, causing difficulties including delays for global operators."

He also said, "We actively support the establishment of funds such as OTT contributions, but since the market is still in its early stages and many operators are investing, separate collection discussions are underway with global operators, so we hope this will be fair and at a level that operators can bear," adding, "Copyright-related disputes have also increased, and when the OTT market grows, we want to find ways to achieve a win-win situation."

Regarding regulations on the media content mother fund, he urged easing the production and investment share ratio for large corporations and requested consideration of securing investment resources to establish a virtuous cycle structure for content. Yang added, "The competition framework is changing as it is no longer a relationship between domestic large corporations like CJ and production companies and small businesses, but competition between domestic emerging OTT companies and global companies," and "It would be great if support is provided so that the mother fund can be actively operated in a way that helps content significantly."

Meanwhile, the forum was held under the theme of 'Strengthening the Competitiveness of Domestic Media Platforms for the Global Expansion and Distribution Activation of Excellent K-Content.' It aims to analyze the impact of global companies' expansion into the domestic market on the domestic media and content industry and to assist domestic media and content companies in entering the global market.

Professor Lee Young-joo of the Graduate School of IT Policy at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who participated as a panelist, said, "Recently, only the broadcasting and video industry has not increased in domestic gross domestic product (GDP), which means domestic investors think the broadcasting and video market has no scalability," adding, "It is a traditionally regulated industry, and although OTT exists, the market judgment is that it is being outpaced globally, so several times more investment capital than now is needed."

Lee Hee-joo, director of Content Wave, also pointed out, "A fatal problem of Korean subscription-based OTTs is that costs are directly linked to sales," explaining, "Assuming 10,000 won is received from the end user, some of it goes to content providers (CP), some goes to payment fees, and only about 1-2% remains."

She added, "Among these, the biggest risk in Korea is music copyright," saying, "The scariest part is that they ask for copyright fees based on the sales ratio," and "Similar copyright-related associations such as the Cultural Industry Association and Writers Association are also raising copyright fee issues, and if one asks for an increase, all ask for an increase, which means that no matter how many hundreds of millions in sales are made, operators face a difficult cost structure."

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