South Korea and Brazil are pursuing cooperation in next-generation broadcast media.

Kim Jong-cheol (김종철), chair of the Korea Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission, held a meeting in Seoul on Feb. 24 with Brazilian Communications Minister Frederico de Siqueira Filho and Brazil’s ambassador to South Korea Marcia Donner Abreu to discuss ways for the two countries to cooperate.

The meeting focused on ways to support Brazil’s next-generation media platform project, TV 3.0, based on South Korea’s experience commercialising ultra-high definition (UHD). TV 3.0 is a next-generation broadcasting standard with higher transmission efficiency than existing digital TV. It enables UHD video transmission and interactive services that combine broadcasting and the internet.

A technology developed last year by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and jointly proposed with the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) in the United States was adopted as Brazil’s TV 3.0 transmission standard. The two sides agreed to continue cooperating to ensure the technology can be implemented stably in Brazil’s media environment.

They plan to work together to respond to changes driven by the spread of new media such as online video services (OTT) and to closely discuss specific cooperation items, including ways to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on technical cooperation.

"South Korea, which has a strong and dynamic audiovisual industry, can become Brazil’s key partner in developing next-generation digital television," Filho said.

"This meeting will be a new starting point to jointly lead prosperity in South America by combining the two countries’ innovative capabilities and future vision," Kim said.