The survival of paid broadcasting channels in Korea, 1993-2010

This study investigates the decisive factors affecting the survival or collapse of cable networks in the Korean paid broadcasting market from 1993 to 2010. The effects of performance variables discussed in previous studies were verified through survival analyses. According to the results, the most influential factors in the survival of cable networks were horizontal integration (MPP), channel genre, the scheduling of HDTV content, and the proportion of access program scheduling. These findings imply that the differentiation strategy of content suppliers is the most decisive factor among all business performance-related factors. Specifically, the content supply power and strategy of the program provider (PP) have the greatest influence on cable network viability. The present study is meaningful as the first attempt to establish the performance of PPs in Korean pay broadcasting markets through the viewpoint of organizational mortality. Accordingly, the present study can supplement the results of cross-sectional studies conducted with smaller samples.