Korea Continues to Dominate the Global Television Industry

Exports of television sets continue to thrive in the information age, and South Korean companies are a dominant force in the world market.   According to The Korea Herald, about a third of all television sets sold around the world in the first quarter of 2011 were manufactured by Korean companies.  (See the accompanying graphic---click to see full size version.)  Furthermore, Samsung and LG both saw year-on-year markets share increases, while the shares of their Japanese competitors decreased slightly.

The Media and PyeongChang's Winter Games Bid

The Korea Times article entitled "PyeongChang to offer Media Convenience in Winter Games" caught my attention for several reasons.   One is that I frequently spend weekends in Gangwon Province not far from PyeongChang.  The other is that I've co-authored two books on the role of media, especially television, in the modern Olympic games.   The first was Global Television and the Politics of the Seoul Olympics, and the second Television in the Olympics.  The hyperlinks used in this post will take you to Google Books, where you can read either of them online, or download a PDF version.  I know that my co-authors will appreciate my sharing this information.

While television played a dominant role in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1992 games in Barcelona, the continued development of the internet and convergence of digital media since then has changed the nature of Olympic media coverage and, if anything, increased the importance of media infrastructure in determining the success of an Olympic bid.  In the decision that will be made by the IOC this July, between PyeongChang and two European competitors, I'm sure that the quality of the information infrastructure to support global media coverage, with an emphasis on television, will loom large. I'm also confident that PyeongChang's bid will be a strong one, bolstered by South Korea's world-leading digital networks.

3D Smartphones, Yes! 3D Television with Glasses Required, No!

About a week ago I read an article in the Joongang Daily that was completely devoted to a standards dispute between two different standards for 3D television, both of which require that the viewer wear specially-purchased glasses!  It turns out there are two kinds of 3D technology in use:  active shutter glasses and passive polarized glasses.   Read the article if you're interested in further details.

Last year I toured Samsung Electronics headquarters in Suwon with some international visitors and had a chance to personally try out 3D television, with and without glasses.  I will go on record here and now, predicting that any 3D television technology that requires the use of glasses will likely be a non-starter in the global market and may serve a small niche market at best.  For the reasons why, ask anyone who has worn glasses and think about how this relates to the television viewing experience, especially when a person is out of the home or office, and "on the go."

Consequently, I was very interested to read in the Chosun Ilbo that LG Electronics is set to debut a 3D smartphone at the 2011 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month.   It reportedly allows a viewer to see 3D content without glasses, at a distance of 30-50 cm from the screen.  Now this is a technology that makes sense and will seem natural to users.  Expect to see 3D television become popular on smart phones and small devices, long before it (at least the type that requires glasses) hits the big screen.  If you have good arguments against this scenario, I'd like to hear them.

Google TV's Prospects in Korea

The New York Times is reporting that, despite setbacks, Sony is "optimistic about Google TV."  It could well be that Korea, with its world-leading digital networks and encouraging uptake of IPTV, as mentioned in my prior post, might be a market in which Google TV does very well.

Sony acknowledges that reviews of its internet-enabled Google TV have been mixed and Google itself has asked other television makers to delay new models until the software could be refined.  The Google TVs, which run on Intel’s Atom chips, are close to full-fledged computers. They let users search for keywords to find shows and see when and where it is being broadcast, as well as viewing links to Web sites about the show.

It appears that Toshiba, LG Electronics and Sharp have put off plans to demonstrate Google TVs at the consumer electronics show next month in Las Vegas.   However, Samsung still plans to show off a forthcoming Google TV model.  And why not?  Although the new, interactive, video-on demand and other services may take some getting used to, they undoubtedly represent a big part of the future market, especially with the digital network infrastructure available here on the southern half of the Korean peninsula!

IPTV Subscribers in Korea Top 3 Million

Internet protocol television (IPTV) has attracted more than three million subscribers within its first two years of operation, according to industry reports.  That figure represents 6 percent of the nearly 50 million subscribers in the local television market.   A KT official commented that "The number of available channels on Qook TV lags behind other cable TV services, but...we reached 3 million subscribers thanks to two-way services, such as video-on demand, and other features."

LED Backlit LCD Television Shipments to Rise by Factor of Eight in 2010

I first saw one of the new light emitting diode (LED) backlit Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) televisions developed by Samsung Electronics almost one year ago now.  My wife and I had walked over to a Samsung outlet in the neighborhood.  It was a jaw-dropping experience.  There was such a dramatic reduction in the thickness and weight from the similar Samsung LCD television we'd purchased some weeks earlier that it was almost hard to believe.  The graphic posted here shows iSuppli's forecast for increased worldwide shipments of the LED backlit televisions compared with the older, thicker, heavier models that depend on cold cathode flourescent lamps (CCFL) for backlighting.  In 2010 alone, shipments of LED backlit LCD televisions 40 inches in size and larger will rise by a factor of nearly eight, reaching 18.8 million units, up from 2.5 million in 2009. (Click on the graphic to see a full-size version.)

The greatest driving force in this growth is consumer acceptance and demand.  Based on my first reaction to the new television sets, I'm not at all surprised!  The new television sets are much more expensive than older models and their are still some technical issues, such as LED lifetimes and thermal issues.  However, what iSuppli notes as the "ace in the hole" for these new television sets is that they are in tune with the interest of governments, corporations and people around the world in "going green."  They consume less power than the older sets based on CCFL backlighting.  However, the form factor of the new sets, being just a fraction of the thickness (they are just over one inch thick and light enough for one person to pick up and mount a 55" set on the wall!)

Korea's leading manufacturers currently hold a dominant market position in LED backlit televisions, having introduced them early last year, months before any Japanese or other competitors.

Sales of Digital TVs Growing During Economic Slump

This is a follow up to the previous post about the new LED television sets being sold by Samsung Electronics.  As reported in the Chosun Ilbo and other papers today, sales of digital television sets are growing in the world's developed economies, despite the severe economic slump.  This reflects increased consumer spending on in-home activities and also defies the common sense idea that high end appliances do not sell well during an economic recession.  Another factor contributing to the sales is that governments worlwide have adopted policies for switching over to digital broadcasting.   Here in Korea the obvious beneficiaries of this global phenomenon are Samsung and LG Electronics, the world's leading manufacturers of flat screen digital television sets.

New York Times: What Convergence? TVs Hesitant March to the Net

An article in today's New York Times just illustrates that the United States is on another planet than Korea when it comes to media convergence and offering of television services via the internet.  Three major providers here are now agressively marketing IPTV services, bundled with attractive voice and data services in so-called "triple-play" packages.  The government, through the newly-established Korea Communications Commission, is trying to remove obstacles to "convergence," as if to say "bring it on!"  Meanwhile, in the United States, many are suggesting that it will be a slow transition to the inevitable.  The debate discussed in the New York Times never took place here, nor will it, and we are moving on to other things.  I'm not suggesting that it will be a completely easy road ahead, but as a consumer, I'm happy to live in the Korean media market versus that of the U.S., thank you.

Revenue Problems for Korea's DMB Industry

Despite healthy levels of viewership, the latest reports suggest that advertising levels on South Korea's Digital Multimedia Broadcasting services are not providing enough income to sustain the business.  As a result, according to The Korea Times , the nation's six terrestrial DMB operators are considering halting their coverage on subway lines in a desperate move to shed costs and keep the business afloat.  Less than three years ago they had jointly invested to complete transmission networks in subway lines, allowing commuters to watch World Cup football games.

The number of viewers has not been a problem. About one-third of all Koreans have access to mobile television, dubbed digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) here, with free terrestrial DMB services garnering around 16 million users and another 1.8 million subscribed to satellite-based DMB, a pay-T.V. service provided by TU Media.

Instead, finding reliable revenue streams for the DMB services has been the major challenge.  Since terrestrial DMB services are free for users with television-enabled terminals, advertising is the only source of revenue for the operators.