KT explores synergy between AI, media

Telecom giant eyes W5tr in media sales by 2025

Kim Hoon-bae, executive vice president of the media platform business unit at KT, speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. (KT Corp.)

South Korean telecom carrier KT Corp. said Monday it is expanding its advanced artificial intelligence technology to the group’s entire media business, from content investment and production to marketing and control, to accelerate innovation.

"The media business is one of KT's three core businesses, along with communications and AI,” Kim Hoon-bae, executive vice president of the media platform business unit at KT, said in a press conference held earlier in the day in Seoul. “We’ll continue to lead the market by adding unrivaled AI technology to the media value chain.”

KT now has 12 media affiliates, including Millie's Library, Skylife TV and KT Studio Genie, which handle diverse content businesses ranging from content planning and production to distribution and advertising.

Currently, some 13 million households subscribe to its services.

Last year, KT posted 640 billion won ($465 million) in content sales, up 26 percent from a year prior. The group aims to reach 5 trillion won in total content sales by 2025.

Under the ambitious sales goal, KT said it would accelerate innovation across its media business units based on its own AI capabilities while extending investments for the global distribution of Korean-made content.

At Monday’s event, KT also introduced Magic Platform, a business-to-business comprehensive media solution that analyzes diverse videos and creates content tailored to specific customer needs -- a first of its kind here. The service is to be available within the second half of the year.

Additionally, the company said it plans to unveil an on-device AI set-top box in the second half of the year, which is intended to be faster and more convenient for users.

Skylife TV, celebrating its 20th anniversary, unveiled a lineup of entertainment shows including the tentatively titled “Les Miserables," a food show featuring celebrity chef Baek Jong-won, to be launched in the second half, alongside a new slogan for the ENA channel created with an AI voice.

KT Studio Genie announced a global growth strategy to strengthen its original intellectual property first to enter into overseas markets.

“We believe that the quality of technology itself, which we have been accumulating for over a decade, is what differentiates us from other rivals. We’ll compete with (competitors abroad) over quality,” Kim said.

By Jie Ye-eun(yeeun@heraldcorp.com)