By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff reporter
SK Telecom said Wednesday it will establish a joint venture with the Walt Disney Company to broadcast two Korean language channels on cable and Internet TV services.
The new company will help Disney establish a firm foothold here, while helping SKT gain access to the U.S. company's content, which it will offer through its mobile devices.
SKT will hold a 51 percent stake in the venture, which will go into operation in the next couple of months.
This is the first time in Disney's history for it to set up a joint venture with a foreign company to service its own channels.
"The partnership will pave the way for us to bolster SKT's access to Disney's content," spokeswoman Cindy Kang said. "The tie-up is expected to create further chances in a new sector where consumers can watch videos on an array of devices including mobile phones and tablet PCs."
The joint venture will show Korean-language versions of the Disney Channel and Playhouse Display Channel aimed at children and families, pending approval from the nation's top telecommunication regulator.
SK Telecom also plans to ramp up its video on demand (VOD) service if approval is given.
Kang, however, declined to give financial details, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
The deal comes at a time when "content" has emerged as the top buzzword in the domestic telecommunication industry partly due to the rising popularity of smartphones, which make it possible for users to enjoy various mobile services.
SK Telecom, which aims to sell 2 million such handsets, is allocating a massive budget for content as part of its corporate shift to strengthen its software-focused capabilities away from its heavy dependence on the number of subscribers.
Company representatives say it will expand outsourcing to secure more mobile content as it is very keen to solidify its "one-source, multi-use" strategy and to revitalize the local wireless Internet data market amid convergence in the telecommunications sector.
"We hope to provide other mobile content from Disney's key units including Buena Vista and Pixar on our mobile devices," Kang said.
In addition to its biggest local rival KT, SK Telecom is in talks with Apple of the United States to sell its 3G-based tablet PC ― the iPad ― though the spokeswoman wouldn't comment on any progress.
For Disney, which is tapping the marketability of the Korean market, the alliance is forecast to enable it to make a "soft-landing" before implementing aggressive strategies here, analysts say.
Encouraged by the possible approval of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and the United States, the media group is reviewing the possibility of launching its own channels directly.