| Original Message |
tuesday
Posted May 3, 2003 10:53 PM
BCOZ THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE THAT OUR NETWORK WOULD NOT DARE BUY THEM. Still i have the previlege to see them through chinese channels.
FROM A SINGAPOREAN NEWSPAPER.
Korean distributors are jacking up prices of drama serials by 10 to 20 times what they used to be as Asia snaps up their tearjerkers. But how long can the Korean wave last? By Samuel Lee KOREAN dramas are now so hot, each one-hour episode can cost TV stations US$40,000 (S$70,720). This is more than what Hongkong, Japanese and even Hollywood shows command. The Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) is asking for that amount for its new drama, All In.
Starring Lee Byung Hun and Song Hae Gyo, the total price for the 24-part serial - a whopping US$960,000 - is almost twice the US$526,000 paid for the country's most expensive TV export previously.
That record was held by Mermaid Lady, which was sold by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to Taiwan's Gala TV (GTV) cable network in February SPH MediaWorks COO Man Shu Sum says All In's asking price is 'ridiculous', but its Channel U is fighting with Channel 8 for the show. Korean dramas have been big in Asia since 2000 Insiders say they used to be more affordable, going for as low as US$800 per episode. Japanese dramas cost four times that and those from Hollywood and Hongkong 10 times more A buyer who did not want to be named says: 'Now, cashing in on the popularity of their products, Korean distributors are jacking up prices by 10, 20 times what they used to be, or even more.' THREE-CORNERED FIGHT THE free-to-air TV market in South Korea is ruled by three stations - SBS, MBC and Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). Among them, they have cornered the market for Korean dramas (see other story). The genre has been around since 1956, when TV broadcasts began in the country. With ownership of TV sets estimated at 11.2 million - or 1.6 per household - the Koreans can be said to be a nation of avid watchers. Local productions take up about 90 per cent of air-time. The rest are acquisitions from the United States, China, Hongkong and Taiwan. The nation first exported TV dramas back in 1993, to China. Because their quality was regarded as inferior then, they were sold for between US$400and US$800 per episode. Mr Man says today's price hike is due to the Han Ryu phenomenon or, literally, the Korean wave of TV dramas, pop music and movies sweeping the region. Export markets include Taiwan, Vietnam, Mongolia, Hongkong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and even Russia. Singapore began running Korean TV shows in a big way in 2001, after the launch of Channel U in May that year. Channel 8 is now airing Her House on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10.30 pm. Channel U is showing Propose on Saturdays at 1.30 pm. Encouraged by the interest, the Koreans are now riding on the wave to promote other sectors, like tourism. Recently, SBS teamed up with the Korea National Tourism Organisation (KNTO) to promote All In on Jeju island, 450 km south of Seoul, where most of it was shot.
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