Exports of S. Korea TV programs top $500 mln in 2022

Exports of South Korean-made TV programs soared nearly 30 percent on-year to a record high last year thanks to rising demand from global streaming platforms, a government report showed Monday.

A total of US$561.3 million worth of Korean TV content was sold overseas in 2022, up 29.6 percent, or $128.1 million, from a year earlier, according to an annual report on the local broadcasting industry by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission.

It is the first time that the yearly figure has exceeded the $500 million threshold, it added.

The report said robust overseas sales of Korean TV drama series to global streamers led the sharp on-year increase in exports.

Japan was the biggest buyer of the Korean TV programs with 19.5 percent, followed by the United States with 8.1 percent and China with 7.7 percent.

South Korea imported $72.9 million worth of foreign content in 2022, with those from the U.S. and Japan accounting for more than 90 percent.

Meanwhile, the South Korean broadcasting sector posted 19.8 trillion won ($15.2 billion) in total revenue last year, up 1.8 percent from a year ago.

Sales of the terrestrial broadcasters increased 4.2 percent on-year to 4.2 trillion won, and those of paid TV channels climbed 2.7 percent to 7.2 trillion won.