One Third of Koreans Watch DMB
Published on | Source
Rapid spread of "palm TV"
One out of three Koreans enjoy digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) or watching broadcasts on their cell phone.
According to a special state committee on terrestrial DMB, DMB terminal sales grew by 500,000 units per month last year for a cumulative 15.4 million gadgets as of last month, up 70% from the end of 2007.
Satellite DMB service provider TU Media reached 1.8 million members last month. The total number of DMB users has surpassed some 17.2 million.
DMB service, often called "TV in my hand" is now used by a third of Koreans since Korea launched the world's first commercial DMB service in 2005.
The number of users particularly increased with the introduction of DMB devices that double as cell phones and also due to the Beijing Olympics. More and more cell phone buyers also want phones supporting DMB.
The number of memberships to satellite DMB, which is a paid service, has also soared 45% from 1.27 million in late 2007 to 1.8 million late last year.
But despite the explosive growth, terrestrial DMB broadcasters continue to operate in the red because of poor advertisement revenue. TU Media also continues to post net losses.
One out of three Koreans enjoy digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) or watching broadcasts on their cell phone.
According to a special state committee on terrestrial DMB, DMB terminal sales grew by 500,000 units per month last year for a cumulative 15.4 million gadgets as of last month, up 70% from the end of 2007.
Satellite DMB service provider TU Media reached 1.8 million members last month. The total number of DMB users has surpassed some 17.2 million.
DMB service, often called "TV in my hand" is now used by a third of Koreans since Korea launched the world's first commercial DMB service in 2005.
The number of users particularly increased with the introduction of DMB devices that double as cell phones and also due to the Beijing Olympics. More and more cell phone buyers also want phones supporting DMB.
The number of memberships to satellite DMB, which is a paid service, has also soared 45% from 1.27 million in late 2007 to 1.8 million late last year.
But despite the explosive growth, terrestrial DMB broadcasters continue to operate in the red because of poor advertisement revenue. TU Media also continues to post net losses.
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