LG HelloVision, the No. 1 company in the cable TV industry, is moving to expand into non-broadcasting businesses. It is responding as revenue from its broadcasting business declines.

Song Gu-young (송구영), CEO of LG HelloVision, said at a New Year town hall meeting in January, "We can no longer survive with a business model centered on broadcasting and telecommunications." He added, "We will expand our portfolio beyond budget phones and rentals to include new regional businesses."

The rental business is showing results. Product sales including rentals and educational devices rose 52.2 percent over three years, from 216.6 billion won in 2023 to 238.0 billion won in 2024 and 329.6 billion won in 2025. Last year, it accounted for 26 percent of total revenue, surpassing the share of broadcasting at 22.2 percent.

Rental revenue alone totaled 172.1 billion won last year, up 42.8 percent from a year earlier. Demand increased mainly for lifestyle home appliances tailored to the MZ generation, including robot vacuum cleaners and StandbyME.

LG HelloVision's total revenue in 2025 rose 5.7 percent from 1.20 trillion won a year earlier to 1.27 trillion won. Operating profit increased 39 percent over the same period to 18.7 billion won from 13.5 billion won.

Revenue in its core broadcasting segment is declining as the number of cable TV subscribers falls. Broadcasting business revenue in 2025 came to 281.1 billion won, down 2.8 percent from 289.1 billion won a year earlier. Advertising service revenue also fell to 250.2 billion won from 255.8 billion won. It has declined for three consecutive years since 2023.

According to the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission, cable TV (SO) subscribers in the first half of 2025 totaled 12,090,000, down 2.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. LG HelloVision has 3,430,000 subscribers, the most among SO operators, but the decline continues.

LG Uplus is also pursuing various businesses beyond rentals, but their results are uncertain.

Its regional commerce business closed its online mall in June last year. There was criticism that it faced structural limits because it could operate only within a regulatory sandbox without legislation. Museum L, a culture and tourism project at Incheon’s Sangsang Platform, was also wound down in July last year, one year after opening.

Its smart device business for education offices is also highly volatile because it depends on orders from city and provincial education offices. Revenue from other businesses, which includes supplying smart devices, fell 98.8 percent from a year earlier to 400 million won in the third quarter of 2025. An LG HelloVision official said, "We will maximize competitiveness in our core business through restructuring based on selection and concentration, while providing services that add real value to the lives of local residents."