[Digital Today reporter Seulgi Son] "The North American broadcasting market is still an untapped frontier that K-content has not yet entered. With ad rates 10 to 20 times higher than in Asian markets, even a small share could be a sufficient opportunity for domestic operators."

Kim Jeong-eun (김정은), CEO of K20, said in an interview with Digital Today that the United States still accounts for 45 percent of the global content market. She said free ad-supported streaming TV, or FAST, could be the key for K-content to enter North America.

FAST is a smart TV-based free video platform. Content runs on a schedule like traditional TV and generates revenue from advertising. Platform operators include smart TV makers such as Samsung (Samsung TV Plus), LG (LG Channels) and Xiaomi (Xiaomi TV Plus), and content companies such as Fox (Tubi), Paramount (Pluto TV) and NBCUniversal (Peacock). Manufacturers distribute their FAST apps by pre-installing them on smart TVs they sell, while content companies offer apps that can be installed separately.

According to global streaming data company Wurl, 47 percent of U.S. households use FAST on a weekly basis. Usage rates in Europe include 35 percent in Spain, 26 percent in Britain and 25 percent in Germany. Industry estimates put the global number of FAST users at close to 1.1 billion. That is more than three times Netflix subscribers, at 300 million.

K20 supplies linear channels to these FAST platforms. It runs 5 genre channels in beauty, food, travel and games across 8 global platforms including LG Channels, Xiaomi TV Plus, ODK and Whale TV. It acquires content from broadcasters such as ENA and Medias and schedules it on its channels. Its beauty and fashion channel Trend On had about 820,000 monthly users as of January this year, up 7.2 times from a year earlier. Monthly viewing time rose 13.5 times to 1,159,000 minutes.

Kim is a global K-content distribution specialist who previously worked at Korean OTT service GOMTV and Iconix, the animation producer of Pororo and Tayo. She founded K20 in May 2023. "When I opened a Tayo channel on the North American FAST platform Roku, the channel grew at dozens of times the speed of YouTube," she said. "North America and Europe were markets that never opened through broadcasting no matter how hard we tried, and I thought sending Korean films and dramas through FAST could open them, which led me to start the business," she said.

She sees FAST as advantageous for the global spread of K-content. Global OTT services such as Netflix and Disney+ have become distribution channels for K-content, but they cannot cover all of it. "Netflix has many contracts focused on content they invested in as originals or some terrestrial TV titles, so from a broadcaster's perspective it is not true that everything is solved by getting onto Netflix," she said. "If you look at Netflix's U.S. home screen, K-content is not spread across the front, and it is structured so users have to actively search to see it," she said.

She stressed that FAST channels are composed of K-content, so viewers who choose the channel naturally consume it. K20 exclusively offered Bulgari Korea's documentary film 'The Emperor's Jewel' on LG Channels in August 2024 and, within 2 months, recorded plays and visits equal to six times those on existing OTT services.

Ad rates are also higher. "Fox simultaneously broadcast the Super Bowl on TV and on the FAST platform Tubi, and ad revenue was higher on Tubi," Kim said. FAST ads attach real-time ads that fit the video context without interrupting content, raising purchase conversion rates. One example is advertising a waterproof watch at the bottom of a swimming scene. The global FAST advertising market is expected to grow to $11.83 billion in 2027 from $9.06 billion in 2024.

There are operational challenges. Channel operators must bear all costs themselves, from platform contracts and content delivery network transmission fees to localisation for subtitles and dubbing, and metadata standardisation. "Korean broadcasters have managed metadata for domestic airing, so having to reorganise it to fit global standards is also a difficulty," he explained.

He also called for policy support. "There are many support programmes for OTT production, but there is still no support programme for FAST," he said. "With hundreds of FAST channels competing in the United States, we need promotional and marketing support to make people aware that K-FAST channels exist in the U.S.," he said. He expects policy backing to speed up market entry.

It has automated parts of operations using artificial intelligence. "We have implemented it to the stage where AI analyses viewing data and automatically suggests next week's schedule," Kim said. "One employee operates 5 channels, which is a different dimension from traditional programme providers that used to put at least 5 people on a single channel," he said.

It aims to add channels to 1 to 3 major North American platforms by next year and reach 1,000,000 monthly users. To do that, it is also pursuing FAST original production. It is a K-beauty reality programme for global viewers in which foreign cast members who come to Korea regain confidence through K-beauty and K-fashion. It is attracting advertisers by highlighting that there are no restrictions on advertising formats. It features Red Velvet's Wendy, FIFTY FIFTY's Moon Chanel and actor Shin Seul-gi. It is producing English dubbing in parallel from the production stage.

Kim stressed that when YouTube emerged and when OTT emerged, people were late to follow, saying they would do it if there was money to be made. "Media and platforms coexist. Whether you are a content operator or a platform operator, you have to go wherever there are new users," she said.