It was found that viewing environments and service quality across pay TV, including internet protocol television (IPTV), system operators (SO), and satellite broadcasting, improved from a year earlier.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission on the 23rd announced the results of the "2025 pay TV service quality assessment," conducted jointly with the National Information Society Agency (NIA). The assessment covered 18 pay TV providers, including IPTV, SO, and satellite broadcasting, and was divided into quantitative items such as channel switching time and the number and length of video-on-demand (VOD) ads, and qualitative items such as perceived video quality, content satisfaction, and diversity.
Based on evaluations by a 2,116-member user panel while watching live programming such as news, drama, and sports, broadcast video quality averaged 4.6 out of 5, an "excellent" level. Overall service satisfaction—combining viewing quality and stability, customer response, and convenience across real-world stages such as sign-up and installation, use, after-sales service, and changes or cancellations—averaged 64.9 points.
By detailed category, scores were as follows: content satisfaction and diversity 59.4, ease of use 65.1, content usefulness 62.8, content diversity 60.3, timeliness and differentiation 58.3, VOD expense rationality 55.7, and appropriateness of ad time 54.3.
In quantitative indicators, channel switching time shortened to an average of 1.27 seconds from 1.45 seconds the previous year, improving service speed. In contrast, the number of ads per VOD title increased by 0.16 to 0.53, and the average ad time rose by 5.32 seconds to 15.29 seconds from a year earlier.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission said it will continue to improve and supplement the evaluation framework to encourage sound competition among pay TV providers and enhance user benefits.