Terrestrial, cable TV firms in last-minute negotiations

The possibility of a last-minute agreement between the terrestrial broadcasters and cable TV operators is gaining increased attention as the two sides made last-ditch efforts over the broadcasts of public channels on Thursday.

“The two groups are currently engaged in negotiations without putting a stop to airing programs of terrestrial broadcasters, a measure devised not to cause any inconvenience to cable TV watchers,” said Kim Jun-sang, director-general of the broadcasting policy bureau at the commission. “We expect to see positive results.”

Cable TV operators had planned to stop airing the programs in high definition resolution to its 15 million subscribers beginning on noon Thursday if the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

As part of the effort, cable TV stations sent out notices in subtitles while broadcasting their programs for the past few days. Cable TV watchers would have been forced to watch the public broadcasts in the lower-quality standard definition resolution without the agreement.

Terrestrial broadcasters demanded cable TV stations pay a minimum of 280 won for every program aired through their channels. However, cable TV operators fought back, claiming terrestrial broadcasters should also help pay the cost of sending out terrestrial content via cable.

The event takes place as the country plans to go digital by 2013, meaning most analog TV broadcasters need more funding to make that happen, while cable TV stations say paying the fees threatens their survival.

Earlier in July, the chiefs of terrestrial TV stations agreed to form a negotiation panel after the Seoul High Court ruled that cable TV operators should stop airing broadcasts of terrestrial stations’ programs.

The first court ruling in September of last year had also taken the side of the three terrestrial broadcasters ― SBS, KBS and MBC.

But the court rejected the major TV stations’ request that ordered cable TV operators to pay up to 100 million won per day for airing the programs of the major TV stations.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)