SK Broadband's B tv Hot Deal tops W10b in sales within 10 months of launch

SK Broadband's TV-based short-form commerce service B tv Hot Deal has surpassed 10 billion won ($7.35 million) in cumulative sales within 10 months of its launch.

SK Broadband announced Wednesday that cumulative sales for B tv Hot Deal, which debuted in November last year, crossed the 10 billion won mark this month.

The pace of sales growth has also accelerated. It took about seven months to reach 5 billion won in cumulative sales through June, but the service added another 5 billion won in just three months after that.

B tv Hot Deal is a TV commerce service on B tv channel 41 that presents discounted home shopping products through short-form videos of about one minute each. Users can browse products with their remote control, then receive a purchase link on their smartphone to complete payment or place an order by phone.

Unlike traditional TV home shopping, which dedicates extended airtime to a single product at a fixed hour, the service lets users compare multiple products through short clips whenever they choose. The company said consistently strong sales of everyday staples with high repurchase rates — such as kimchi, rice and toilet paper — have driven earnings growth.

The number of home shopping companies participating in the service has also grown, expanding from five at launch to 11 today. Six TV home shopping operators are now on board — Lotte Home Shopping, Hyundai Home Shopping Network, NS Home Shopping, Home & Shopping, Public Home Shopping and GS Shop — along with five data home shopping operators: SK Stoa, KT Alpha Shopping, Shopping NT, W Shopping and Shinsegae Shopping.

SK Broadband does not charge participating home shopping companies a brokerage fee. The service also provides a dedicated sales channel for products from small and medium-sized enterprises that struggle to secure airtime in regular TV home shopping schedules.

At Home & Shopping, 87 percent of the products sold through B tv Hot Deal are from small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 81 percent of total order value.

SK Broadband plans to extend the service, currently available to IPTV B tv subscribers, to B tv cable subscribers in the future.

"This shows that customers want to browse and buy products directly on TV, not just on mobile," said Shin Seung-sik, SK Broadband's head of commerce and advertising. "We will continue to strengthen product competitiveness and service coverage to develop this into a leading co-prosperity TV commerce model."

B tv Hot Deal launched on the basis of a temporary regulatory sandbox approval granted by the Korea Communications Commission last year. SK Broadband spent about a year and a half on regulatory improvements and business preparations before introducing the service.