/Courtesy of Broadcasting and Communications Commission

Last year, the total revenue of the domestic broadcasting market recorded 18.9575 trillion won, a decrease of 4.1% compared to the previous year.

Although revenue from Internet multimedia broadcasting service providers and content providers (IPTV and IPTV CP) increased, the revenue from terrestrial broadcasting service providers (including DMB) and broadcasting channel usage providers (PP) significantly declined.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission released the results of the 'Broadcasting Industry Survey,' which covers the status of the domestic broadcasting industry in 2023, on the 25th. The survey targeted businesses with broadcasting revenue of more than 100 million won. Following a pilot survey last year, the current survey also added the production, distribution, and workforce status of IPTV CP starting this year.

Broadcast advertising revenue totaled 2.4905 trillion won, a decrease of 19.2% compared to the previous year, with all businesses except for comprehensive cable television (SO) experiencing declines. The total revenue for terrestrial broadcasting amounted to 3.734 trillion won, down 10.2% from the previous year. In particular, advertising revenue, which had accounted for the largest share over the past decade, fell by 23.3%, recording 927.9 billion won. Sales revenue from broadcasting programs also lagged behind.

Revenue for paid broadcasting service providers was 7.233 trillion won, a slight increase of 0.4% from the previous year; however, the growth rate continues to slow. By medium, IPTV revenue grew by 2.3% to surpass 5 trillion won due to increases in subscription fees and home shopping broadcasting fees. In contrast, revenue for cable television and satellite broadcasting decreased, amounting to 1.7338 trillion won and 492 billion won, respectively.

The total revenue for PP businesses decreased by 6.8% from the previous year to record 707.9 billion won due to sluggish advertising revenue. Revenue for PP, excluding home shopping, is 3.6015 trillion won.

The total revenue for IPTV CP was 898 billion won, with 87.2% of it coming from sales of broadcasting programs. As of December last year, the number of paid broadcasting subscribers was 36.3 million with a 0% growth rate. The subscriber numbers by medium are 20.98 million for IPTV, 12.48 million for SO, 2.83 million for satellite broadcasting, and 10,000 for relay cable (RO).

The total production and purchase costs for broadcasting programs amounted to 3.8682 trillion won. Specifically, production costs were 2.8247 trillion won, while purchase costs were 1.0435 trillion won. The export value of programs was approximately 970.3 billion won (667.31 million U.S. dollars). Terrestrial broadcasting accounted for 138.4 billion won (14.3%), PP for 415.9 billion won (42.9%), and IPTV CP for 416 billion won (42.9%).

Among the major exporting countries, the United States had the largest share at 28.6%, followed by Japan (20.5%), Singapore (3.3%), and Taiwan (2.1%). The number of people employed in the broadcasting industry is 38,299. By business category, there are 13,192 in terrestrial broadcasting, 6,003 in paid broadcasting, 17,212 in PP, and 1,892 in IPTV CP.