SEOUL — The national broadcaster of South Korea has reached an agreement with a key partner in the development and rollout of ATSC 3.0 technology that will see the distribution of its Korean-language programming to roughly 30 million U.S. households through a new channel.
Thanks to a strategic collaboration between KBS and Sinclair Inc., the all-new “K-Channel 82” will become a NEXTGEN TV offering. It was incorrectly reported by Korean media that it would be a digital multicast offering on every one of Sinclair’s 185 local television stations in the U.S. — regardless of whether or not the market has a sizable Korean-language audience.
For example, a viewer could click on a video of a K-pop star on a music show and be directed to websites selling food or beauty products used by the artist, KBS said.
KBS and Sinclair also agreed on a revenue-sharing model, under which advertising revenue generated from KBS content will be shared with Sinclair.
There’s perhaps a bigger reason for the rollout, as Korea JoongAng Daily reports: “Under the deal, KBS will also share its disaster broadcasting technology with Sinclair and jointly develop a U.S. version of its disaster data transmission service,” it says.
The system combines GPS data with terrestrial broadcast networks to deliver location-specific emergency alerts, including evacuation information and safety instructions.
KBS has applied for a patent for its bespoke technology, which like the NAB-developed Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) can “determine locations within centimeter-level precision.”
The agreement advances a Memorandum of Understanding signed between KBS and Sinclair in January.
Meanwhile, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that KBS’s fiscal strain is high, with the state operator losing the equivalent of $66.7 million in fiscal 2025 on lower licensing fees, advertising and content sales. That is KBS’s largest loss on record for a fiscal year.
— With reporting by RBR+TVBR’s West Coast Bureau
