Content Suppliers Eye Broader Reach In Digital Age

TOKYO (Nikkei)--The digital era's impact on content creators, as well as the issue of globalization, were subjects of discussion Tuesday at a Global Information Summit panel session on generating effective content.

"Outlets for content are diversifying, including online transmission and cellular phones," said President Park In-tek of Yoon's Color Ltd. The firm markets the works of the director of "Winter Sonata," a South Korean television drama hugely popular in Japan.

On its own dramas, Park said the company "will engage in multifaceted activities, including broadcasts, appearances, publishing and the Internet."

"For the baseball business, we will use the Internet as a supplement to existing broadcast media," said ShowTime Inc. Vice President Takao Toshishige. Virtual mall operator Rakuten Inc. (4755), a new entrant into Japan's professional baseball business, and usen Corp. (4842) have stakes in the video transmission firm.

On the globalization of content, Pokemon Co. CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara said that "Pokemon succeeded because it incorporated elements that could be enjoyed by children around the world.

"Focusing too much on Japan's unique culture can undermine a content's ability to gain international acceptance," he said.

With content increasingly seen as a promising export item, "governments are now actively intervening to nurture content industries in their countries," said Kim Jung-hoon, associate professor at Keio University's Research Institute for Digital Media and Content. "The spread of global operations (in content industries) will thus accelerate."

(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Wednesday morning edition)

Panelists

Moderator