Aju Business Daily

SEOUL --  To survive the fierce competition in South Korea's over-the-top video-on-demand market, KT launched a new mobile video content service, promising to provide differentiated high-quality content and high-definition images using 5G and artificial intelligence technologies.

The competition in South Korea's over-the-top (OTT) market intensified in 2016 with the entry of Netflix, the world's top OTT video content service provider, which targets viewers favoring foreign hit dramas and films, sparking a catfish effect among domestic companies which have teamed up to combine their services.

KT took a different patch by launching "Seezn" on Thursday to provide super-high-definition (UHD) video content with ultra-low latency using its 5G network. "With Seezn, we will provide services based on 5G and AI technology for more realistic video content that can be consumed conveniently," KT said in a statement. AI provides a function of listening to music and analyzes facial expressions, personal history and weather to recommend optimal content.

KT said Seezn would provide films in 4K UHD video format for the first time as a South Korean mobile OTT company. Seezn is optimized for the live broadcasting of sports using ultra-low latency technology that has a delay of about one second. It shares music libraries with Genie, KT's online music service, to provide some 170,000 original soundtracks (OSTs) that can be accessed while watching films and drams.

KT will join hands with Migu, a content provider of China Mobile, to introduce 4K Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) content in China next year.

KT's basic monthly subscription plan was set at 5,500 won ($4.66). Subscribers can enjoy some 100 real-time TV channels as well as about 70,000 video-on-demand content. The telecom company has prepared original video content using virtual reality (VR) technology to attract tech-savvy early adopter consumers.