LG Uplus' K-pop idol platform goes global via smart TVs

Fans of K-pop idols such as boyband sensation BTS and girl group Blackpink will be able to enjoy their live performances through smart TVs at home as well as in the metaverse.

South Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier LG Uplus Corp. plans to take its K-pop content platform, Idol Plus, to the global market in partnership with LG Electronics Inc.

Idol Plus will be available on smart TVs equipped with LG Electronics’ latest web-based operating system, WebOS 22, starting this month.

Smart TVs equipped with the WebOS 22 software allow users to connect to the internet and download on-demand content while accessing streaming services.

More than a hundred smart TV makers, including KMC, Walton and Seiki, are using the WebOS 22 software developed by LG Electronics.

To attract more TV brands to its smart TV platform, LG Electronics has also signed partnerships with streaming giants such as Netflix, YouTube and Amazon as well as forged business ties with technology solutions providers Realtek Semiconductor Corp. and Universal Electronics Inc.

LG Electronics manufactures 25 million smart TVs annually, of which 90% are exported.

IDOL PLUS AVAILABLE IN SIX LANGUAGES

Last month, LG Uplus changed the name of its K-pop content platform U+Idol Live to Idol Plus and made its content available in six languages – Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indonesian – to widen its overseas user base.

Launched in 2018, the platform offers real-time streaming of Korean pop concerts and other entertainment content.

It currently boasts a library of some 35,000 videos featuring K-pop acts such as NCT Dream, ITZY, VIVIZ and Kep1er. The platform has a monthly active user base of more than 2 million people.

LG Uplus said it is building servers in Singapore, France and the US to turn local users into paid subscribers of its services.

In addition to K-pop idols’ live performance broadcasting, the platform also offers services such as “'videos by each member” that allows fans to select and watch individual members’ performances, and “time machine” for users to see missed live performances.

LG Uplus, which provided extended reality (XR) online performances using immersive technology last year, plans to expand the Idol Plus service into the virtual metaverse world by the first half of next year.

LG is also exporting its K-pop content platform to foreign telecom service companies.

Earlier this year, LG Uplus signed a deal to supply K-pop XR content to Kuwait’s Zain Group, which offers mobile data and voice services to over 50 million users in seven Middle Eastern and African countries.

Write to Han-Gyeol Seon at always@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.