As of the end of March, South Korea’s SK Telecom reported a total of 9.401 million pay TV customers. Representing a 0.8% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 3.4% increase compared to the previous year.

The growth in IPTV subscriptions offset a slight decline in legacy cable TV customers. SK Telecom proudly announced that it had achieved the highest growth rate in the IPTV market.

Over the quarter, SK Telecom’s IPTV subscriber base experienced a growth of 1.3% and a year-on-year increase of 5.5%.

However, the cable TV base declined by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter and 1.4% compared to the prior year, resulting in a total of 2.809 million subscribers.

On the other hand, broadband subscriptions showed a quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.8%, reaching a total of 6.757 million subscribers.

The overall mobile subscriber count also increased by 0.5%, reaching a total of 33.01 million subscribers.

SK Telecom reported a consolidated revenue of KRW4.4 trillion for Q1, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 2.2%. This increase was attributed to the growth in 5G and pay TV subscribers, as well as an uptick in B2B revenue.

SK Telecome has a notable increase

SK Telecom’s operating income saw a notable increase of 14.4%, reaching KRW 494.8 billion.

Pay TV revenue also experienced a slight growth of 0.3%, amounting to KRW 472 billion.

The company’s media business, encompassing content, advertising, and commerce, achieved significant growth in the quarter, with revenue surpassing a 10% year-on-year increase, totaling KRW 393.2 billion. SK Telecom attributed this growth to its strong presence in the fixed and mobile market.

SK Telecom has outlined its plans to enhance its competitiveness in the media business through the utilization of AI technologies.

The company aims to transform itself into an AI-focused organization, leveraging AI innovation in areas such as customers and technology, time and space, industrial transformation, core business model, and ESG.

In April, SK Telecom made a KRW 15 billion equity investment in Scatter Lab, a startup renowned for its Lee Lu-da chatbot, and formed a strategic partnership with the company. SKT and Scatter Lab will collaborate in various AI-related domains.

Kim Jin-won, the chief financial officer, expressed the company’s commitment to ensuring that the transformation into an AI company leads to the maximization of corporate value and shareholder value.