Papers, agency win cable licences in South Korea media crossovers

Dec 31, 2010, 10:49 GMT

Seoul - South Korea's government said Friday that it granted licences to media consortia led by the country's four major daily newspapers for their own cable television channels.

It also issued a licence to the Yonhap News Agency for a cable news channel, said the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, Choi See Joong.

General programming licences went to consortia led by the Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo and Maeil Business newspapers, allowing them for the first time to produce and broadcast their own cable TV programming, including news, entertainment shows and sports.

The commission, which is South Korea's broadcasting watchdog, said the new licences are meant to promote the diversity of programming and competition in the market. The government is issuing them after President Lee Myung Bak's government relaxed the restrictions on crossovers between print and broadcast media.

Competition among news channels was also expected to spike with the granting of a licence to a consortium led by the nation's largest news agency. At the moment, this market is dominated by YTN and MBN.

Yonhap said its channel would debut in the second half of 2011.