S. Korea's KT Expands Media Business With Discovery Networks

- KT's skyTV to Unveil New Shows in Partnership with Discovery Networks-

- Korean Telecom Leader to Develop Platform for Media Contents Business -

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Oct 28, 2020, 09:00 ET

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KT Corporation, South Korea's largest telecommunications service provider, is strengthening its media contents business through its subsidiaries and affiliates as the company transforms itself into the global platform for the next generation of connectivity, media and technologies.

skyTV, KT's media content distribution unit, and global media leader Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. established a joint venture, Studio Discovery, in January to create original contents. The new venture is owned by skyTV with a 30 percent stake and Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. holding the rest.

Studio Discovery will start producing original content as the global projects between skyTV and Discovery Networks. The partnership provides KT SkyLife Co., KT's satellite broadcasting subsidiary and the majority shareholder of skyTV, another excellent channel for audiences to enjoy original content at home and abroad.

"We will continue to expand its global partnership for the next media platform to provide the best contents for all the viewers around the world," skyTV CEO Yoon Yong-Phil said. "skyTV and Discovery Networks will soon unveil their first global projects produced by Studio Discovery."

KT SkyLife has been expanding its library since it acquired a 9.9 percent stake in Studio & NEW, a leading content production company in South Korea, in January this year.

KT's skyTV and Discovery Networks to Showcase New Programs

skyTV plans to offer subscribers an array of genres in collaboration with Discovery Networks through Studio Discovery. To build up original content, the studio has recruited several program directors credited with producing Korea's representative entertainment shows.

Studio Discovery will produce at least two new shows within this year, which will be simultaneously programmed on skyTV's channels, SKY and NQQ, as well as Discovery Channel Korea. The new shows will be streamed in advance by Seezn, KT's over-the-top (OTT) service in South Korea.

The first broadcasting show is "STRANGERS IN LOVE," followed by a cooking competition program, titled "RESTAURANT WITHOUT BORDERS." The second show is intended to provide viewers with an opportunity to view foreign cuisine at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has halted international tourism. Chefs from different countries will introduce a variety of foods of the world.

skyTV is also honing the competitive edge of its channels, with "Weplay Season 2" and "Doomed Marriage" keeping high viewer ratings and being much talked about by the viewers. The company will try to boost its image as a provider of high quality entertainment by steadily supplying original content tailored to viewer needs.

KT to Launch Content Value Chain for Media Contents Business

Storywiz Co., a content creator subsidiary of KT, is also gearing up its efforts to become a leading provider of media contents, securing intellectual property rights to web fiction and webcomic for the production of new contents.

Storywiz plans to invest 10 billion won initially and more in creating a full-fledged system, including a studio for intellectual property planning and production, investment, assisting distribution and development of "one-source-multi-use" contents.

In an effort to turn itself into an operator of communication network-based platforms, KT also is planning to launch a content value chain of intellectual property acquisition, production and distribution.

Storywiz will assist KT in pursuing its endeavor to provide intellectual property and original contents by recruiting web novelists, securing intellectual property, and producing and distributing "one-source-multi-use" contents, including webcomics, dramas and movies.

"One-source-multi-use" is the trend in the entertainment content market. It refers to the use of a single original work for production of multiple contents, such as webcomic, drama, movie, game, musical and others.

To secure intellectual property rights to original works, Storywiz will adopt a Hollywood-style collective production system for creation of web fiction, dividing the work process into minute steps, including data analysis, planning, writing and editing, to secure "super intellectual property rights" to webcomic, drama and cinema contents.

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ABOUT KT CORPORATION (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT)

KT Corp., Korea's largest telecommunications service provider, is leading the new era of innovations in one of the world's most connected countries with 5G, Big Data, Cloud, IoT, Blockchain and other transformative technologies. KT launched the world's first nationwide commercial 5G network in April 2019, after showcasing the first trial 5G services at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February 2018. To help cope with COVID-19, KT is staging a social campaign, dubbed "Ma-Eum:TACT (Heart to Heart)," providing technology supports for people and businesses in need. KT will deliver most essential and innovative services and solutions to its customers around the world as the first frontier in the next technology revolution and number one Global ICT Company.