The first wave of Korean AI formats is coming
Nahee Kim, MD of channel and content business at MBC America, on why AI-led shows emanating from Korea are poised to take the international formats market by storm.
Nahee Kim
MBC America, the LA-based arm of South Korea’s Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), is best known for selling singing competition format The Masked Singer into the US.
The American adaptation has been a major hit for broadcaster Fox, with 10 seasons having aired since January 2019 and an 11th due to premiere next month.
The Stateside popularity of the show sparked something of a goldrush for Korean unscripted format adaptations, leading to successful adaptations of other homegrown titles like I Can See Your Voice (CJ ENM-owned Mnet) in the US.
Formats emanating from Korea continue to attract the interest of local broadcasters and streamers, but according to MBC America’s MD of channel and content business Nahee Kim, the world needs to be on notice for a new wave of Korean innovation that will change the unscripted game. Namely, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-created formats.
“As everyone knows, Korea is a very advanced country both in terms of technology and creativity, and we have a lot of creative AI content coming out,” says Kim, who spearheaded the deal that saw The Masked Singer being sold to Fox.
It is certainly true that innovative producers from all over the world are leaning heavily into AI to find the next big format. However, given Korea’s track record, especially in recent years, of devising addictive and bingeable formats in both unscripted and scripted, a strong argument could be made that it is likely to be a heavyweight in the burgeoning field of AI-led format creation.
Among the formats being shopped by Kim is Gone Producer, an MBC original series produced almost entirely by AI – everything from casting to hosting to directing to editing. The format uses a tool called AI Programme Director (PD), which aims to revolutionise the broadcasting sector and create a future where AI oversees all aspects of the television production process.
Gone Producer is an MBC original series produced almost entirely by AI
While the specifics of the format have remained under wraps, an AI-created casting notice issued last year called for people with strength, endurance, a strategic mindset and good observational skills.
The overall concept for the show was devised by a group of humans, including Yoon Kwon-soo, producer of the popular Netflix reality competition series Physical: 100.
In Korea, the series will premiere shortly on MBC, with Kim noting the format is in front of several American broadcasters and currently awaiting a decision. The exec was in Miami last month for C21’s Content Americas introducing Latin American and US Hispanic buyers to the project.
While Kim sees an exciting future for Korean formats as AI becomes increasingly interwoven with production processes, MBC America is also making strides in expanding its traditional formats business.
In the past, the company’s main line of business was selling Korean formats – both scripted and unscripted – to buyers in North America and Latin America.
However, in a fast-changing marketplace where audiences are increasingly receptive to watching international shows regardless of language, Kim says Latin American broadcasters are for the first time becoming receptive to picking up finished-tape Korean series and dubbing them into the local language.
According to Kim, MBC America recently sold a pair of scripted series to TelevisaUnivision-owned free-to-air network Channel 5 in Mexico. The companies have previously worked together on TelevisaUnivision’s Mexican version of The Masked Singer, but this is a new development.
“This is the first time they have acquired an original Korean drama, which is very meaningful for us,” says Kim.
MBC America’s global hit The Masked Singer
Other Lat Am markets like Brazil, which Kim says used to be “very hard to sell to,” are becoming “very open” to engaging with Korean programme sellers, she adds.
In addition, MBC America is making inroads with some of the region’s larger streaming services, including Max, ViX and Pluto TV, and Kim says she is hopeful that more Korean unscripted formats will find homes in Latin America.
More broadly, Kim says the Korean formats business is in rude health, with several major adaptations set to be announced later in the year.
Among those deals, Kim says MBC has sold another of its unscripted formats to an American network, though the deal has not yet been announced.
“Ever since The Masked Singer, the US networks have been looking at a lot of Korean formats and I expect that will continue this year. It’s not only MBC titles, but others such as SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) and KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) are also actively selling their formats,” says Kim.
“I’m not sure what’s going to be made yet, but certainly for us a lot of formats are in discussion right now.”
