KBS2


KBS2 is a South Korean free-to-air channel owned by the Korean Broadcasting System. It mainly caters to a younger demographic, with programmes consisting of drama, entertainment shows and live sports coverage. KBS2 is a result of the forced merger of the Tongyang Broadcasting Corporation with KBS in 1980.

History

Programming

KBS2 is the home of predominantly entertainment and drama programmes produced by KBS such as Music Bank and You Hee-Yeol's Sketchbook, the network's main musical programs, Happy Together, Let's Go Dream Team!, 2 Days & 1 Night, The Return of Superman and , the network's well known variety shows. Apart from drama and entertainment, the channel also shows films, popular talkshows, less news bulletins and more sporting events; this is in contrast to KBS1, which focuses more on news, current affairs, documentaries and cultural programming. As the target audience of KBS2 is younger than that of KBS1, they also broadcast a significant amount of children's programming in the mornings and afternoons.

Controversies

Carriage dispute

On 16 January 2010, a dispute broke out between KBS and the Korea Cable TV Association over carriage fees. KCTA sought to reduce fees from major national networks for carrying their feeds through subscription providers. KBS had demanded to charge 280 won per subscriber, while the TV providers limited their offer to 100 won per subscription. Negotiations reached a standstill, and so the providers decided to stop carrying KBS 2 nationwide starting from 3:00 p.m. on that same day. Due to loss in viewership, KBS2 experience major decline in their ratings. Following the blackout, the Korea Communications Commission has ordered the TV providers to resume distributing the channel or face a hefty fine. They initially refused, but on 17 January, they agreed to resume the channel's carriage after 28 hours.