[Opinion] Re-Consider Extension of TV Broadcasting.

Broadcasting time of three TV companies such as KBS, MBC, SBS would be increased five hours per day from 15th that is 45 days before opening of World Cup.

Also 24 hour broadcasting will be allowed from 31st May~7th July which is the duration of the World Cup and will continue for one week after its conclusion.

Although contents are restricted to sports and sound program, dispute for extending broadcasting time ended as three T.V companies won over such treatment of Broadcasting Committee.

Broadcasting Committee (BC) lifted hands of three T.V companies which are oligopolies.

BC stated that it investigated and considered opinions regarding this decision after Broadcasting Association suggested extension of broadcasting time last year.

There is clear excuse to support national festival like World Cup.

However, there is much criticism that this decision is production of powerlessness and absence of broadcasting philosophy in BC.

It means that extending broadcasting time is not an easy matter because most of broadcasting business like making domestic programs, foreign programs, and advertising time is being done on the basis of comprehensive broadcasting time.

Seeing Ad market simply, if three companies increase 5 hours per day, it is just like as one stronger channel than local private broadcasting that broadcasts 15 hours per day is made.

The reason why daily broadcasting time is limited to 15 hours (19 hours on weekend)

is based on the certification of broadcasting stations.

When they received permission through recommendation of BC, they admitted the time according to policy guidelines.

Limiting broadcasting time during past oil crisis was due to economic reasons.

On the contrary, the reason why BC limited broadcasting time after latter 1990s` was related to survival of new media broadcasting like Cable TV, which should survive in market.

Three TV companies are saying that there is lots of difficulty due to limitation of broadcasting time.

Currently, however, if we see closely, they have extended broadcasting time by receiving permission from BC in case needed.

If we see programs, which are being broadcasted in extended time, most of them are either sports or re-broadcasting of entertainment programs.

It is natural.

As daytime or midnight is not popular to viewers or advertisers, it is difficult to produce and broadcast good quality programs by spending huge expenditure.

Nevertheless, there is reason for three TV companies to request extension of broadcasting time because the marketability of such time is becoming big and there are lots of side benefits like expanding Ad market by extending broadcasting time.

What BC should examine at first is plan for organizing programs in extended time.

BC should examine which program they want to broadcast and decide about extension by discriminating programs of each channels.

If it were so, temporary extension of time of KBS1 TV is possible.

As it broadcasts high quality programs relatively and doesn`t carry out Ad, therefore there is no influence to exert on the market.

Summarily, extension of broadcasting time with regards to three TV companies should be reconsidered.

Multiple investigations are needed on the basis of plan for organizing programs during the period that requires extension.

Although, now is the time for `relaxing limitations`, the aim of broadcasting policy is to limit monopoly and oligopoly in order to enable several other companies survival and to provide various high quality programs to televiewers.

Currently, extension of broadcasting time is head-on with objection to such aim of policy.

Choi Young-Muk (Prof. In Sungkonghoe University, Journalism)