LOS ANGELES, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Warner Bros, facing rampant online piracy,
will close its DVD marketing and distribution operation in South Korea and hand
over that business to a local licensee, the company said on Tuesday.
The division of Time Warner Inc said in a statement it will make the
transition in the coming weeks.
Warner Bros announced in September that it would become the first
Hollywood studio to release movies in South Korea through video-on-demand, two
weeks before their release on DVD.
The company said its commitment to the South Korean market remains
strong. But its decision to shift business to a licensee signals the challenges
with piracy that Hollywood studios face in a country where more than 94 percent
of households have broadband connections.
An industry source said that piracy "creates a more challenging
marketplace" in South Korea than elsewhere.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Peter Henderson, Richard Chang)
(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on
http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/) Keywords: FILM WARNER
(Reuters Messaging: peter.henderson.reuters.com@reuters.net; email:
peter.henderson@reuters.com; +1 213 955 6750)
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