South Korea's cable TV network faces survival crisis due to declining subscribers, with operating profits halved

According to the Korea Communications Commission's "2023 Broadcasting Market Competition Assessment Report," the operating profit margin of the broadcasting division of cable TV management companies (MSOs) is expected to reach 1.1% in 2019.
It has fallen a cumulative 11.4% over the five years, from 12.6% in 2018 to 1.2% in 2022. Operating profit has fallen by more than 200 billion won (approximately 22.8 billion yen).
Cable TV stations are operators that receive licenses on a regional basis, and are subject to more diverse regulations than their competitors, such as IPTV and over-the-top (OTT).
Investment costs are also increasing due to the obligation to operate multiple channels. Furthermore, regulations on the amount of content usage that cable TV stations will pay for terrestrial broadcasting and TV broadcasting product placement (PP) are also increasing.
The revenue from reception fees is expected to reach 533.6 billion won (approximately 60.94282 billion yen) in 2022, accounting for 86.8% of total revenue from reception fees.
In response to this situation, the Korea Cable Television Broadcasting Association has established an emergency management measures council.
A cable television industry source said, "With declining subscriber numbers and worsening performance, the sense of crisis is growing to the point where we have to discuss our survival."