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The Oakland-based podcast company moves into South Korea with the acquisition of the largest domestic podcast ad-seller BirchSound. ART19 has also struck deals with Korean broadcasters SBS, KBS, CBS and Chosun.
ART19 has named former BirchSound Founder and CEO, Hansoo Kim, CEO of ART19 Korea. Kim has 27 years of experience in South Korean media. As Strategic Team Leader of SBS, the country’s largest private broadcaster, he established joint ventures with NBCU, Viacom, and ESPN, and purchased exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics and World Cup Sports. Mr. Kim was subsequently SVP of South Korean media and entertainment titan CJ, where he oversaw its international business unit. He went on to found BirchSound, which he built into the leading podcast ad sales operation in South Korea.
ART19 Korea’s launch partners represent the top four radio broadcasters in South Korea, as well as the country’s most popular newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, which has a daily circulation of 1.8 million copies and over 17 million daily website visitors. ART19 Korea’s partnerships are all encompassing, including enterprise hosting, exclusive global ad sales, and select content co-productions.
The Head of the SBS Radio Center, T. I. Chung, announced the new partnership stating, “Over the past several years, SBS has been developing different types of podcast content and closely monitoring the growing on-demand audio market in South Korea. ART19 provides best-in-class technology and has deep experience with monetization. After many meetings with Founder and CEO, Sean Carr, and his team here in Seoul, it was clear that we share the same vision. We look forward to our long term partnership and building this new market together.”
ART19 Founder and CEO Sean Carr: “ART19 has benefited greatly as an early mover in the US podcast market, and we are aiming to replicate this success internationally. We are honored to launch our efforts in South Korea with such an esteemed group of publishers. SBS is the leading radio broadcaster, Chosun is the number one newspaper, and KBS is both the country’s public and top overall broadcaster. Podcasting is seeing tremendous growth in South Korea, and we believe it will be a model for growth in Asia and around the world.”