May 22, 2007

Korea in the Grip of U.S. TV Series Fever

200705220017_02.jpg Korean viewers are gripped by US made TV series fever, reports Digital Chosunilbo. Cable and terrestrial channels are broadcasting more than 30 series.

"With the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement concluded, U.S. drama fever is expected to soar even higher. Under the agreement, U.S. investors are able to invest in Korean cable TV channels to the extent of owning a 100 percent stake.

Series such as "Friends" and "Sex and the City", and dramas like "Desperate Housewives", "CSI" and "Lost" all owe their popularity to cable TV. The craze has broken all the rules of TV broadcasting in Korea, changing the concept that terrestrial TV leads and cable follows.

... U.S. drama fever is a warning to domestic soap opera producers.... Prof. Choi Chang-sup, of the Department of Mass Communications at Sogang University, said, "Domestic drama has to improve its content to compete in a more challenging media environment.”

Related: - America lags behind Europe and S Korea in watching TV Online




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