[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] SBS has identified “survival” as its top priority for the second half of this year and announced three key action items: “Content That Resonates,” “AI First,” and “Execution That Drives Revenue.”

In his “Second-Half CEO Message,” delivered on the 2nd at the SBS Mokdong headquarters during the “First-Half Awards Ceremony,” SBS President Bang Moon-shin said, “In light of a recent incident at a certain broadcaster, the weight of the word ‘survival’ feels heavier than ever,” he said. “When pretentiousness pushes substance to the sidelines, when a lack of understanding regarding costs and revenue becomes rampant, and when an organization is swayed by a sense of superiority packaged under plausible justifications, the organization collapses and crisis seeps in through the cracks,” he added, emphasizing the need to guard against pretentiousness, a lack of understanding, and a sense of superiority.
President Bang stated, “Content that is chosen is the essence of our business,” adding, “Survival is only possible when we connect not only to ratings but also to revenue from content sales and distribution, securing funding through sponsorships, and expanding into e-commerce and intellectual property (IP),” and presented priorities for each division and affiliate.
For dramas, he highlighted securing distribution revenue—particularly global distribution revenue; for variety shows, he emphasized building fanbases and expanding them into revenue streams; for news, he stressed achieving top results at the September Nagoya Asian Games and delivering in-depth journalism that answers the question “Why?”; for the Production Division, he focused on developing new IP with compelling stories and information and creating new business models; and the Technology Division set its priority for the second half of the year as becoming the top AI broadcaster based on the results of its AI transformation.
This is interpreted as presenting a direction for future strategy in light of the current media market, where even fully sold advertising inventory fails to cover production costs.
Regarding communication, he urged leaders at the team leader level and above, stating, “The more diverse voices emerge in this era, the more deeply we must communicate with employees. However, to ensure the organization’s health, we must clearly distinguish between sincere requests aimed at organizational development and blame-shifting demands driven by personal interests, and carefully separate the wheat from the chaff to integrate them into the organization.”
President Bang stated, “While conveying the urgency of ‘survival,’ we must not overlook the warmth and gratitude that exist among SBS employees,” adding, “I hope that the bond of gratitude—where the company is grateful to its employees and employees are grateful to the company—will become even more tightly woven.”
Meanwhile, today’s event also featured an awards ceremony honoring contributors from both inside and outside the company who achieved significant results during the first half of the year. External recipients of special awards included Kang Hyun-joo, writer of the drama *Brave New World*; Heo Nam-jun (who played the role of Cha Se-gye); Yoo Yeon-seok, who appeared in the drama *God’s Law Firm* and the variety show *Whenever I Get a Chance*; DJ Kim Tae-kyun of the radio show *2 O’Clock Escape: Cultwo Show*; writer Im Chae-yoon of “Beopryun Road: The Monk and the Guest,” and veterinarians Park Sun-seok, Cha Jin-won, and Han Jae-woong of “TV Animal Farm.”
Meanwhile, SBS is dominating the broadcasting industry with its golden lineup of Friday-Saturday dramas. Following the success of “Brave New World,” the new Friday-Saturday drama “Manager Kim” is also gaining popularity, surpassing 15% (15.7% based on Nielsen Korea’s national household ratings) after just two episodes.