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[TV Program] Combination of On-air and Online Broadcastings Proves to Be Profitable

New services that blur the boundaries between on-air and online media are gaining ground as profit models for program providers, including cable TV.

According to an industry statement made on February 4, the marketing strategy of converging on-air and online services by animation channel Tooniverse, music channel MTV, and game channel Ongamenet has appealed to viewers. Recognizing that it was difficult to make viewers pay for content, these channels offered free VOD and invited viewers online to make separate purchases for related products.

Tooniland (www.tooniland.com), the Tooniverse homepage managed by Onmedia, offers animation VOD and related online games free of charge. Tooniland recorded 200 million page views for December and 300 million this January. As the leading portal website for elementary school students, Onmedia statistics show that one million (out of a total of four million) elementary schools students visit the site daily.

Similarly to online game portals, its profit model relies on advertisements and the sale of game items. Lee Yeong-gyun, the team leader of Onmedia, said, "Pre-school children have many online services to choose from, whereas elementary school students face a lack of online playgrounds". He added, "By staging joint events with toy and stationery companies, we have confirmed the potential of the Internet as a profit model for the broadcasting industry".

Ongamenet (http://www.ongamenet.com), Onmedia's game channel and broadcaster of popular online games, has gained popularity among teenagers with its time machine service, which allows access to reruns of programs that aired 24 hours ago.

Children's entertainment channel Nick, managed by MTV Networks Korea, provides VOD such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer as well as games on its homepage (www.nick.co.kr) for free. These online services account for the most profit, followed by character products at 30% and English teaching materials.

Music channel MTV, operated by MTV Networks Korea, launched its free of charge service to provide 4,300 overseas music videos last December at http://www.mtv.co.kr . Visitors can access the high-quality pop music service without logging in. According to MTV, its monthly average PV increased by 40% after launching the music video service.

MTV has also increased its daily average PV to 30% through the webcam live streaming service, which reveals behind-the-scenes footage of The M in real time.

The recent convergence by the industry reflects the younger generation's high Internet accessibility. It raises the value of online broadcasting and keep viewers tied to its channel, thereby achieving the effect of killing two birds with one stone.

Furthermore, the Internet serves as a tool for analyzing the marketing effects of the cable industry based on website user studies.

Team leader Lee Yeong-gyun said, "The number of services which converge broadcasting and the Internet will continue to rise as they allow the segmentation of user needs depending on demographics".

Source: Seoul Economic Daily

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