A graphic shows SK Broadband’s declining pay TV subscribers and rising AI data center revenue, alongside an overview of the planned Ulsan AI data center equipped with about 60,000 GPUs and a first phase of 40 megawatts scheduled for 2027. Graphic by Asia Today and translated by UPI
March 5 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s pay television industry is struggling to maintain growth as streaming services reshape the media landscape, pushing operators to seek new revenue sources such as artificial intelligence data centers.
SK Broadband, one of the country’s largest pay TV providers, lost about 150,000 subscribers last year as consumers increasingly shift to over-the-top streaming platforms.
The company has responded by pursuing a two-track strategy of industry cooperation and expansion into new technology businesses.
Earlier this year SK Broadband joined rivals KT and LG Uplus to establish a 40 billion won ($30 million) IPTV strategy fund as part of the government’s K-content media investment initiative.
The fund will support production of film and television content while helping secure programming for pay TV platforms and boost video-on-demand sales, a key revenue source for operators.
SK Broadband generated 4.53 trillion won ($3.4 billion) in total revenue last year, with pay TV accounting for more than 40% of the total.
However the industry has been hit by accelerating “cord cutting,” a trend in which viewers cancel traditional television services in favor of online streaming platforms.
The company reported 9.45 million pay TV subscribers last year, including 6.72 million IPTV users and 2.73 million cable TV subscribers. That represented a decline of roughly 158,000 customers from the previous year.
Pay TV revenue also fell by about 15 billion won ($11 million).
To strengthen cooperation within the industry, the three telecom companies also plan to launch VOD gift certificates that can be used across platforms regardless of service provider.
The initiative is intended to improve consumer access to pay TV services and expand distribution channels to corporate clients.
SK Broadband has also integrated the artificial intelligence agent A.dot into its IPTV platform B tv to provide personalized content recommendations. The company said the service has recorded more than 100 million uses.
At the same time SK Broadband is expanding its business-to-business services through data centers.
The company operates nine data centers nationwide and generated more than 1.4 trillion won ($1.05 billion) in related B2B revenue last year.
It is also building a large-scale AI data center in Ulsan with its parent company SK Telecom. The first phase is expected to begin operations next year.
By 2030 the company expects AI data centers alone to generate about 1 trillion won ($750 million) in annual revenue.
Last year revenue from AI data center operations rose 35% to 519.9 billion won ($390 million).
SK Broadband and SK Telecom have pledged to invest 3.4 trillion won ($2.55 billion) in AI data centers through 2028.
Industry officials say the company’s push into higher-margin technology businesses could help offset declining pay TV subscriptions.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260305010001413