South Korea\'s Broadcast Media and Communications Commission has launched a private-public consultative body to draw up measures to revitalise the pay-TV industry as growth stalls and profitability worsens. The commission held the first meeting in Seoul on Aug. 20 with pay-TV operators and the Korea Information Society Development Institute. The group will discuss deregulation, building an innovation base, supporting digital and AI transition, and creating a fair, co-prosperity environment, including content usage fee issues.

South Korea’s cable TV system operators will guarantee 80 percent of the previous year’s channel fees each year to improve programme providers’ production and scheduling stability. Under revised guidelines unveiled on Aug. 13, operators will first allocate 80 percent of prior-year fees to each channel after setting the year’s total content payments, and apply audience share and evaluations only to remaining funds. Additional payments of 3 to 15 percent will reward higher TV content investment, while holdback-related bonuses and penalties will also apply.