Pixellot, a leading provider of AI-automated sports production solutions, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with KT Skylife, a premier satellite broadcasting company owned by KT Corporation, and HCN, a top-tier cable TV operator in South Korea. This collaboration, facilitated by Hogak (Whistle in Korean), Pixellot’s partner in Korea, aims to revolutionize the sports broadcasting landscape in Korea by leveraging cutting-edge AI technology and enhancing viewer experiences across multiple platforms.
The partnership represents a significant investment in sports technology, with KT Skylife investing KRW 6.8 billion (approximately USD 4.9 million) in Hogak to enhance its technological capabilities and media reach. Hogak, a broadcasting production company, produces the K4 League of the Korea Football Association (KFA) and holds exclusive rights to Pixellot in Korea. With the launch of the new platform, Hogak is expanding its services in the Korean sports market by acquiring media rights contracts with the Korea Volleyball Association, the Korea Handball Association, and the Korea Little League Baseball Federation. This investment will not only enhance the broadcasting capabilities of KT Skylife and HCN but also foster the development of sports at various levels across Korea.
Choi Young-bum, CEO of SkyLife, said, “We are happy to partner with Pixellot, the world’s best AI sports solution company, and Hogak, which has the best amateur sports broadcasting infrastructure in Korea. Together, we will successfully expand AI sports in the broadcast market and become an AI broadcasting platform.”
The goal of this strategic initiative is to secure 320,000 subscribers within five years, targeting 200,000 student athletes, their families, and approximately 5 million people who enjoy sports in clubs and communities across Korea. The new platform will livestream automatically-produced content using Pixellot’s camera systems in various amateur sports. This partnership will enable the coverage of a wide range of sports, from grassroots to professional levels, ensuring high-quality broadcasts without the need for traditional production crews.
“Hogak CEO Jeon Young-saeng stated, ‘Through our cooperation with SkyLife, which has been at the forefront of applying advanced broadcasting technologies like UHD in Korea for over 20 years, AI-based sports OTT ‘Hogak’ is poised to become Asia’s leading AI sports platform. We aim to create a new wave in sports broadcasting that will resonate globally.'”
“We are thrilled to partner with KT Skylife and HCN to further advance our innovative AI-automated video and data solution to Korean sports fans,” said Alon Werber, CEO of Pixellot. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to making sports accessible to all, enhancing the viewer experience, and supporting the growth of sports in Korea.”
KT Skylife and HCN plan to integrate this system into local government sports facilities, school gyms, and other public and private sports facilities, which collectively number over 45,000 locations. This ambitious project aims to make sports broadcasting more accessible by significantly reducing production costs while expanding the range of available sports content. In the future, when the service is expanded, game videos will be stored on KT Cloud’s local cloud, and competitions will be available on Skylife TV’s ENA (South Korean nationwide pay television network) and through HCN regional channels.