SK Broadband launches AI-based IPTV service

SK Broadband, an internet and paid TV service affiliate of SK Telecom, launched additional personalized internet protocol television (IPTV) services utilizing AI technology to enhance its competitiveness in the country’s paid TV market, the company said Wednesday.

The company said it applied its own Video Cloud Streaming (VCS) technology to its IPTV service, B tv, for the first time in the industry. VCS technology handles the user environment and service operations of IPTV from a cloud server, not a set-top box, allowing users to enjoy the latest B tv services at the highest specifications without hardware performance limitations, the company said.

The company also announced that it has added Auto Detection and AI Curation features to B tv. Through these features, users can operate B tv to suit individual preferences using mobile devices and receive personalized content through the AI Curation function.

“This B tv renovation is a result of efforts to accelerate AI transition of our media business, which is part of the AI pyramid strategy announced by SK Telecom last September,” Kim Seong-soo, vice president and head of customer business division at SK Broadband, said during a press conference. “From now on, we are providing an AI-based hyper-personalized media portal service experience.”

The company is also introducing an AI shopping service that seamlessly extracts various product information shown in video-on-demand content such as popular dramas or entertainment content and makes these items available to purchase.

For example, if a user finds a product they like while watching a drama, they can be linked to purchase it. The company said that shopping links with Netflix content will be implemented in the second quarter of next year.

“SK Telecom and SK Broadband are working hard to provide seamless, uninterrupted AI services on mobile and IPTV,” Kim said. “These new technologies will be important solutions to retain customers.” The Korea Times