A+E Networks pushes into 2018 with wings unfurled on the most significant initiative in its long-running Korea business.

The network officially re-launched its two wholly owned local channels in October 2017 and unveiled a slate of originals that are part of its US$15-million investment in local production house iHQ. The company is also positioning its Korean operation as a source of content for regional and global distribution.

The mixed-genre slate of Korean originals coming out of the Seoul-based operation will premiere on the two 100%-owned channels – rebranded History (“knowledge is fun”) and Lifetime (“find yourself in lifetime”) – until March 2018.

Local production kicks off with reality and talk shows, although the slate will eventually include scripted drama and factual.

As expected, A+E and iHQ are collaborating on local content creation, most likely beginning with Korean versions of cooking show “Man vs. Child” and survival property “Alone”. Production dates have not been confirmed, but could be by the end of this year. The two companies are also working on co-developing new formats for global distribution.

The first original title to premiere on History Korea is History in a Bottle (Malsul Club), a 12-hour talk show about traditional Korean alcoholic drinks featuring local celebrities and a regular last. A second show is short-form profile series, The Reader, focusing on 10 Korean hip-hop artists, including Nucksal, Tiger JK and Cheetah.

Lifetime Korea originals kick off with an adaptation of the webtoon, The Best Moment to Quit My Job, a six-hour co-production with SK Broadband’s Oksusu streaming platform scheduled to premiere in late November; and competitive reality show, Idol Moms, inspired by A+E’s Dance Moms, with production house SM C&C.

It’s an ambitious slate for a fledgling operation, and has happened faster than anticipated. “We had thought that we would need more time to settle in to the ecosystem,” says A+E Networks International’s executive managing director, Edward Sabin.

“What has been very encouraging has been the willingness of the production community to ideate with us and execute quickly,” he adds. The aim is two wholly local channels indistiguishable from quality Korean services.

“If we do this right, the two channels will not feel like imported channels that happen to have some local content,” Sabin says.

The new brands goes live with digital and offline campaigns such as “Try 100 Times”, a project designed to foster “an attitude to enjoy the challenge itself without worrying about the results”. The second campaign is “Relay Interviews with 100 Korean Women Worthy of Praise”.

A+E Networks’ president of international and digital media, Sean Cohan, says Korea’s digital maturity “allows us great opportunities to have a direct dialogue with consumers in different formats, platforms and technologies”.

The Korean investment was A+E Networks’ biggest initiative in Asia and one of the biggest internationally last year. The acquisition of a stake of about 5% in iHQ for US$15 million was announced in December 2016. The deal went through in March this year. At the same time, A+E bought 100% ownership of the two South Korean channels – FoodTV and TVIS. The two have distribution in approx 18 million of Korea’s 20 million homes. The move gave the U.S.-based network its biggest presence in Korea to date, including transforming A+E’s History from a simple retransmission channel into a fully local service.