Cable TV to Guarantee '80% of Previous Year's Content Fees' for PPs Annually

Up to 15% Incentive Provided for Increased Content Investment

The Cable TV system operators (SOs) have decided to guarantee at least 80% of the previous year's channel fee to broadcast program providers (PPs) each year to ensure stable content production and investment.

Cable TV Content Compensation Standards Briefing Session. Provided by the Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association

The SO Council of the Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association announced this at an explanation session for the amended 'SO Industry Content Fee Assessment Guideline' held on the 13th.

The previous guideline guaranteed 80% of the channel fee in the first year, 60% in the second year, and 40% in the third year, before fully applying the assessment criteria from the fourth year onward. The amendment ensures that each channel will receive at least 80% of the previous year's fee every year, without a decrease in the guaranteed ratio. After determining the total content fee amount, 80% of the previous year's fee will be distributed first. The remainder will then be allocated using assessment results, including viewership share and channel evaluation.

PPs that increase their investment in TV content production and acquisition will receive additional incentives ranging from 3% to 15% depending on the scale of the increase. If the investment increases by at least 90% compared to the previous year, the maximum 15% incentive will be applied. However, costs incurred for content that was first released through online video services (OTT) and not initially provided to TV channels will be excluded from the investment calculation.

In addition, if the content is held back on competing platforms until after midnight following broadcast, up to 10% bonus points will be added based on viewership ratings. On the other hand, a 7% and 5% penalty will be imposed respectively if the content is simulcast on competing platforms such as OTT or YouTube in real-time, or if video-on-demand (VOD) is released before midnight on the day after broadcast ends.

The amendment will be finalized after collecting feedback from content providers until the 4th of next month. A representative from the SO industry stated, "With this amendment, PPs can reduce the burden of having their entire fee fluctuate significantly based on assessment results and are expected to produce and schedule content more stably. We will make efforts to establish a fair and rational program supply agreement and create a healthy broadcasting ecosystem together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.