Downloading trumps streaming in Korea

Hanaro Telecom, one of two staunch IPTV competitors in Korea, is using a distribution model that employs downloading for on-demand delivery. Shashank Tripathi reports on the CNet Asia blog that Hanaro is allowing subscribers to download shows over the Internet and watch them on TV. If someone misses a show in its network time slot, they can catch it when downloads become available a few hours later. Hanaro customers are said to be downloading about 160 hours of content per month.

Hanaro's video offering, Hana TV has 500,000 subscribers; its IPTV competitor, KT, is shooting for a base of 300,000 subscribers by year's end.

Tripathi says Hanaro went with downloading rather than streaming to avoid regulatory uncertainty and to differentiate itself from the endless number of streamers in the market. Jason Kilar, are you reading this?

For More:
- Shashank Tripathi's observations at CNet Asia are here 

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