LG has revealed it is in talks with the Rupert Murdoch-helmed media conglomerate 21st Century Fox in a bid to secure content for its smart TV platform, webOS TV, as senior executives at both Samsung and LG discussed their uncertainty at the global economy.
According to a report in the Korea Times, a key official at the world’s second largest television manufacturer says the company is planning a major promotional assault based on content providers in the second half of this year.
“We are negotiating terms with Fox TV to put its content and other services on our webOS TV.
“webOS TVs will account for over 65% of total TV shipments we expect this year. This is a survival issue. We remain bullish over the outlook for WebOS TVs
“Fox isn’t the only target. We are also in talks with major sports channels such as ESPN. Simply put, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS platforms are dominating the mobile industry. But there are no dominant software platforms for televisions. We are ready to spend more money on that.”
The webOS TV platform, used on smart TVs, was unveiled by the consumer electronics giant at the recent International CES consumer electronics shows.
webOS is set to compete against Samsung’s rival Tizen platform, as well as Firefox OS-based smart TVs from Panasonic and Google TVs from other rival manufacturers.
The content rights negotiations come as both LG and rival Samsung held meetings of its high level executives over the state of the global economy.
According to ZDNet Korea, LG Group chief executive Bon-moo Koo held a two-day meeting with senior executives that discussed growing anxieties over the global financial market and the need to respond to rapid technological shifts.
In a separate report, ZDNet Korea reports Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jaeyong Lee held six days of talks with 331 senior employees at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.
The talks also focused on a similar theme – global financial uncertainty – and were concluded with a banquet for 700 staff.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
