KDB, winner of satellite broadcast license: Broadcasting Commission

A consortium led by Korea Telecom and three major broadcasting companies won the business license for satellite broadcasting Tuesday.

Kim Chung-Kee, chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Commission (KBC), announced in a press conference that the Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting (KDB) was chosen as the provider of satellite broadcasting in a contest with Korea Satellite Broadcasting (KSB).

The commission carefully reviewed the qualifications of the two bidders and arrived at a conclusion that KDB is superior to KSB in terms of technology and financing capability, he said. KDB garnered 754.6 points out of a possible 1,000, while KSB earned 727.4 points.

According to the results of the screening by the panel, composed of 14 experts from various walks of life, KDB was judged superior to KSB in all six categories, including financing capability, formation of channels and operational plans.

KDB plans to start full commercial satellite service on 74 channels by around October next year, after conducting test broadcasting from July. It hopes to increase the number of channels to 114 by 2005, an official said.

Korea Telecom holds an 18 percent stake in KDB, including 3 percent held by Korea Telecom Freetel. Other major shareholders are Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) with 10 percent, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) with 6 percent and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) with 3.2 percent. Iljin holds 6 percent of the company and EchoStar Communications, a U.S. satellite broadcasting company, owns 5 percent.

Based on their holdings, state-run Korea Telecom and KBS are expected to exercise the greatest influence on the operation of the satellite broadcaster.