KT Unifies 12 Channels into 'SkyLife TV'... Industry's 2nd Largest MPP Emerges

Restructuring Vertical Integration of Media Business, Accelerating Strengthening of Content Business
Forming a Duopoly with CJ ENM Owning 15 Channels

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] KT has merged its comprehensive broadcasting channel operator (MPP) Skylife TV with Media Genie within the group, forming a duopoly in the MPP industry alongside CJ ENM. By vertically integrating its media business, KT plans to accelerate related operations by strengthening its content production capabilities.

The Rise of a Media Giant Following CJ ENM

On the 1st, KT completed the absorption merger of Media Genie into Skylife TV and officially launched Skylife TV. The corporate shares are composed of KT Skylife holding 62.7% and KT Studio Genie holding 37.3%. Last October, KT acquired Hyundai Media and renamed it Media Genie. Subsequently, Media Genie was incorporated as a 100% subsidiary of KT Studio Genie. Through this merger, all program production companies within the group were consolidated under Skylife TV.

Skylife TV has become an MPP with 12 channels, including five channels from Media Genie. In terms of the number of channels, it ranks second after CJ ENM (15 channels), firmly establishing itself as a leading domestic MPP. Skylife TV is enhancing profitability and strategically responding to the market by unifying content production and scheduling under the ENA brand. The portfolio of the 12 channels is being reorganized.

In April, KT rebranded the businesses of Skylife TV and Media Genie under the ENA brand. ENA and ENA Play have been operated by Skylife TV, while ENA Drama and ENA Story were managed by Media Genie. During this process, the drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," which first aired under the ENA brand, achieved global success, significantly boosting channel recognition and advertising revenue. Thanks to "Woo Young-woo," Skylife TV recorded advertising revenue of 15.3 billion KRW in the second quarter of this year.

Skylife TV plans to increase the ENA brand value to around 1 trillion KRW within three years through synergy with KT Studio Genie. Studio Genie has set a goal to secure over 1,000 intellectual properties (IPs) during the same period. The inclusion of Media Genie is also expected to create favorable conditions for Skylife TV’s anticipated initial public offering (IPO) next year, as it can enhance corporate value in terms of operations and growth potential.

Vertical Integration of the Media Ecosystem: Cooperation with CJ ENM in OTT, Competition in the Broadcasting Market

KT has vertically integrated related businesses to build a media ecosystem. KT Studio Genie acts as an intermediate holding company, owning Storywiz, Genie Music, KT Season, Media Genie, and others. This year, KT has been expanding its business through selection and concentration. KT plans to strengthen competitiveness through cooperation with CJ ENM in distribution channels while focusing on content production.

In August, KT collaborated with CJ ENM to transfer the online video service (OTT) Season to Tving. The MPP business was unified to form a duopoly with CJ ENM, increasing influence in the market. KT Skylife and KT Studio Genie are expected to accelerate content business enhancement as joint shareholders of Skylife TV.

IPTV has also undergone a complete overhaul. KT revamped its IPTV service 'Olleh TV' into 'Genie TV.' KT plans to showcase differentiated content from KT Studio Genie, Skylife TV, and Genie Music through Genie TV. KT is building a KT Group Media Center near Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, covering about 5,000 pyeong (approximately 16,500 square meters), where it will integrate the channel transmission platform and control system of Skylife (satellite broadcasting) along with Genie TV (IPTV).

Kim Cheol-soo, CEO of KT Skylife, said, "We plan to continuously invest in Skylife TV to establish it as a core axis of the group’s content distribution," adding, "In line with our mid- to long-term growth strategy, we will also explore new business models such as post-production of content using artificial intelligence and IT."

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