KBS World

World Screen Weekly, November 9, 2006

COUNTRIES: As of October 2006, KBS World was available in 36 countries, including the U.S., Russia, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, Cambodia, France, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and across the Middle East.

LAUNCH DATE: July 1, 2003

OWNERSHIP: Korean Broadcasting System, Korea

DISTRIBUTION: Cable and satellite

NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS: 30 million

DESCRIPTION: KBS World is the international cable and satellite channel operated by the Korean public broadcaster KBS. It is a 24-hour general-entertainment channel offering up drama, Korean pop-music shows, news, documentaries, and lifestyle and children’s content.

MANAGING DIRECTOR: Choi Choonae

GLOBAL STRATEGY TEAM HEAD: Eun Mun-ki

MARKETING MANAGER: Lee Yoon Bok

INTERNATIONAL CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Sunny Ryu

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: KBS World aims to offer international viewers the best programming from the Korean pubcaster KBS, which operates two terrestrial networks and three local pay-TV channels and produces about 19,000 hours of content per year. Reaching almost 40 markets worldwide, KBS World is positioning itself as “the one and only source for the most up-to-date Korean Wave programming,” says Sunny Ryu, the manager of international channel distribution at KBS. Targeting Koreans living abroad as well as those interested in Korean culture—about half of the channel’s content is subtitled in English—KBS World’s programming spans costume dramas, entertainment magazines, documentaries and kids’ programming.

The weekday schedule kicks off with a morning news show, followed by lifestyle fare such as Backpack Travels and music programming like Korean Traditional Rhythms. The afternoon schedule consists of factual fare, with Literature with a Voice, Half-Hour to Health and Let’s Learn Korean Right, among others, leading into kids’ programming and an afternoon news series, KBS World News Today. Access prime time targets teenage and young-adult viewers with Zoo Zoo Club and Teen Soliloquy III, while prime time is packed with drama series.

The channel “provides the most vivid scenes of what is really going on in Korea and how the Korean culture looks and feels,” Ryu says, noting that the channel’s biggest asset is its stable of hit Korean drama series. “KBS World is the only source that allows viewers to watch the newest KBS dramas outside of Korea,” Ryu continues. “KBS dramas that have been in high demand in the global television market are broadcast via KBS World only four weeks after their first run in Korea. KBS World carries a wide variety of entertainment programs that feature today’s most popular Korean actors, actresses, singers and writers. Many young viewers in China, Taiwan, Vietnam and even North Korea eagerly emulate the newest and hottest fashion and lifestyle trends from South Korea. The programs provided by KBS World are their source of inspiration.”

Signature programming has included Winter Sonata, one of the first Korean dramas to have an international impact, notably in Japan on NHK, where it secured a 38-percent share, Ryu says. Other hit titles for KBS World have included Full House, Little Bride and Emperor of the Sea.

Among the new titles for the channel is The Man of the Vineyard, which Ryu describes as a “trendy drama” about an uptight city girl who falls in love with a down-to-earth boy from the country. Hwangjini is a new costume drama about a female entertainer who broke with convention during the time of the Chosun Dynasty.

WHAT’S NEW: Further international expansion is key for KBS World, which most recently launched in the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong. The channel is also building its online and mobile assets as part of a broader, company-wide initiative at KBS. Ryu notes, “KBS’s home page is viewed 15 million times a day and it provides news, program information and VOD.” Last year, KBS also launched a terrestrial digital mobile broadcasting (T-DMB) service that offers video, data and audio channels.

WEBSITE: world.kbs.co.kr

—By Mansha Daswani