Theta teams with Korean media titans to drive video engagement and revenue

CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Impressive numbers from Theta's recent testnet launch caught the eye of two media titans in South Korea -- the leading country for blockchain adoption. MBN is a division of Maekyung Media Group, a highly-diversified media company that owns some of the biggest names in communications and broadcasting in South Korea, and CJ Hello, a subsidiary of the $25B Korean conglomerate CJ group is one of the country's largest cable TV operators and mobile providers, will each partner with Theta to deepen media engagement and power revenue growth.

Theta's initial results from its June testnet launch revealed strong engagement with users via a deployment on the SLIVER.tv esports platform which rewards users with Theta tokens for restreaming content. After deploying Theta's video delivery network powered by blockchain, SLIVER.tv saw a 70 percent increase in total monthly visits, reaching nearly seven million. The average viewer spent 31 minutes on the testnet channel, compared to 11 minutes across other channels and 6 minutes on Twitch during the same time frame. Since the launch, more than 530,000 users across 150 countries have shared bandwidth on Theta.

"Theta's impressive early results from June convinced us to take a closer look at Theta as a media blockchain partner to build a decentralized video delivery network," said Mr. Ryu Ho-Gil, CEO of MBN. "We're excited to collaborate with Theta to achieve three key business goals, deepen user engagement and session times across our platform, reduce content delivery costs and drive increased market share. Together, we hope to explore a range of exciting opportunities to deliver content in new ways."

South Korea is a global leader in blockchain, media technology and innovation.  The country recently announced a $200M investment in blockchain research and refined regulations to decrease blockchain fraud and open the market for responsible development. Theta's token was recently listed on Bithumb, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea.

"Speaking from my media experience working at YouTube Korea and Naver, the battle for consumer attention is fiercer than ever with a sea of content on every device from set top boxes to mobile and web desktop" said Yooshim (Karen) Huh, Senior Vice President of CJ Hello. "Theta's new blockchain model provides a valuable weapon to stand out and encourage users to spend more time with content we're already delivering, from hit TV shows to K-pop. With a focus on powering mobile and OTT solutions, Theta promises to be a core part of our long-term growth strategy."

"These partnerships are like announcing deals with Comcast and Turner Media at the same time--and mark a major step toward taking blockchain technology to the mainstream and invent the future of media," said Mitch Liu, co-founder and CEO of Theta Labs. "MBN and CJ Hello are deploying real world media and entertainment solutions powered by Theta that are still just theories for most companies. As video streaming continues to grow exponentially, these Korean media leaders are staying ahead with breakthrough innovation that's proven to connect viewers with content at massive scale."

About Theta Labs, Inc.
Theta is a video delivery network powered by blockchain that incentivizes anyone to restream video and enables next-gen video apps that drive more revenue, deepen viewer engagement and reduce costs. Theta's protocol enables users to earn tokens by restreaming video via excess bandwidth on any device. Restreamers improve quality by serving video locally and can use tokens to purchase premium experiences, content and products. By deploying Theta, platforms can create new business models, generate more touchpoints with viewers, deepen engagement and seed superfans. Learn more at thetatoken.org.

Media Contact:
Roger Johnson
(801) 461-9781
[email protected]

SOURCE Theta

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