KT Skylife, 4Q Operating Profit Up 62.8% "HCN Acquisition and Content Success"

5.11 Million TV Subscribers... TPS Net Increase of 54,000

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] KT Skylife announced on the 7th that its operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year reached 16.2 billion KRW, marking a 62.8% increase compared to the same period last year. This represents a 34.6% increase compared to the previous quarter.

Of the operating revenue of 242.8 billion KRW, the platform segment revenue from Skylife and HCN was 229.2 billion KRW, up 38.5% year-on-year. With the inclusion of HCN, operating revenue increased across all sectors, with subscriber service sales and platform sales from home shopping and advertising rising by more than 30%.

Through the acquisition of HCN last year, KT Skylife secured 5.11 million TV subscribers (3.84 million satellite broadcast, 1.27 million cable), 540,000 internet subscribers, and 120,000 MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) subscribers.

Nationwide budget bundle TPS subscribers also continued to increase steadily. TPS subscribers combining three services?TV, internet (DPS), and budget mobile phones?recorded a net increase of 54,000, and 97% of new internet subscribers were attracted by bundling with TV products. With the launch of the 'sky-HCN bundle product' combining broadcasting and internet, cable TV monthly subscribers turned to net growth for the first time in 14 years and 7 months. The company expects this bundling strategy to help defend cable TV market share.

Thanks to the success of original content such as ‘Steel Troops’ and ‘I am SOLO,’ Skylife TV’s content segment operating revenue reached 13.6 billion KRW, completing a virtuous cycle where content hits increase channel value, leading to improved advertising revenue. In particular, general advertising revenue for the year 2021 was 21.4 billion KRW, an increase of more than 70% compared to the previous year. ‘Steel Troops 2’ is also scheduled to air this month.

KT Skylife plans to reinvest resources generated from its existing platform business into the content sector, centered on Skylife TV. In line with the relocation of the Baekseok Broadcasting Center, the company is also preparing to enter indirect content areas such as PP transmission agency business and post-production.

The company aims to join the 1 trillion KRW annual sales club and achieve an EBITDA of 200 billion KRW. Yang Chun-sik, Head of KT Skylife Management Services Division, stated, “While establishing ourselves as a practical platform with TPS budget bundle products, we will continuously strengthen Skylife TV’s capabilities through expanded content investment.”

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