LG Channels poised to take off in India as new cash cow

LG Electronics Inc.'s transformation into a media and entertainment platform is gaining traction as its free web-based television streaming service is rapidly penetrating overseas markets, including the world’s most populous country India.

According to the home electronics industry on Tuesday, LG Channels, LG Electronics’ free TV streaming service, now offers 28 channels in India, nearly tripling in the 100 days since the service was launched with nine channels in the country last September. 

LG Channels is the South Korean electronics giant’s webOS platform, streaming ad-supported TV content on its smart TVs.

Its viewers can access a wide range of live and on-demand videos including TV shows, movies, news, sports and children’s programs free of charge if they agree to view one-minute-long commercials, which are becoming a handsome revenue source for LG.

Thanks to the service, people in India, with its population of 1.4 billion and 22 official languages, can watch a variety of TV programs, including Korean TV series, in their local tongue, and LG plans to offer 100 channels via its webOS media platform in the country this year.

Considering that it took two years to service 100 channels in India through Samsung TV Plus, Samsung Electronics Co.'s web-based TV streaming service that is a direct rival to LG Channels, LG Electronics’ market penetration plan in the country is bold and fast.  

The Korean electronics giant will strive to achieve this goal by offering various channels in India to cater to different demands such as education programs, considering that Indian people take education so seriously to climb the ladder of success. 

It pins high hopes on the Indian market after LG Channels successfully advanced into Central and South American countries in 2019 such as Mexico and Brazil, where it now offers 174 and 235 channels, respectively.

Last year, it launched its services in four other countries in the region, including Argentina, Peru, Chile and Colombia.

NEW MONEY SPINNER

The latest achievement in India is boding well for the company's big-picture plan to foster its media content business as a new money spinner to offset a global slowdown in TV set demand.

The plan has gained traction. Launched in 2015, LG Channels now offers over 3,000 channels across 27 countries, boasting over 50 million users.

Targeting the burgeoning free ad-supported television (FAST) market, LG Electronics last year announced a plan to update its webOS platform and expand its regular software upgrade to old models by 2025.

It also plans to broaden the content library of LG Channels and revamp its user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) designs.

FAST services, like LG Channels, allow users to enjoy Netflix-like TV streaming services without a paid subscription. All they have to do is watch some ads, the main revenue source for FAST services. 

The global FAST market is forecast to grow to $12 billion in 2027 from this year’s $6.3 billion, according to global technology industry tracker Omdia.

LG Electronics has vowed to be a media and entertainment platform company with a broader goal of transforming into a smart life solution company from a traditional appliance company by 2030.

In striving to achieve this goal, LG Electronics plans to generate about $1 billion from its webOS platform business by 2025.

LG Electronics Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan said last year that the company will drive “qualitative growth” by investing more than 1 trillion won ($750 million) over five years to advance LG Channels’ content.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim and Eui-Myung Park at why29@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.