SEOUL, Mar. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s telecom giant SK Telecom Co. is pushing to team up with Singapore’s Singtel to mutually invest in their over-the-top (OTT) subsidiaries, industry sources in Seoul said Sunday.
The partnership, which is currently under discussion, enables Singtel to invest in SK’s Telecom’s OTT video service OKSUSU and Pooq, which offer programs from terrestrial TV channels, the companies said. In response, SK Telecom would also invest in Singtel’s HOOQ.
OTT refers content to providers that distribute streaming media as a stand-alone product directly to viewers via the Internet and multichannel television.
SK Telecom is currently seeking to produce major indigenous content based on investment from both home and abroad, including Singtel, worth 200 billion won (US$176 million), insiders familiar with the matter said.
The move would help ST Telecom rival global content streaming services like YouTube and Netflix that have recently dominated the local market.
HOOQ, a joint venture among Sony Pictures, Warner Bros and Singtel, was established in 2015. It is Asia’s first premium video-on-demand service to launch across the Southeast Asia region.
The two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on gaming and esports in Asia at MWC Barcelona last month.
The MOU enables SK Telecom to expand its games business and increase the profile of its esports team in the Singtel Group’s markets in Southeast Asia via existing channels.
(Yonhap)