Reflections from NAB Show 2025, Las Vegas
By Samseok Ko (고삼석) |columnist, Distinguished Chair Professor, Dongguk University | Member, Presidential Committee on Artificial Intelligence, Republic of Korea
Global leadership in broadcasting and media is no longer decided by content alone. What NAB Show 2025 made unmistakably clear is that the new unit of competition is the AI-driven technology stack that spans the entire value chain — production, distribution, and monetization. In an industry now being reshaped by the convergence of FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV), Connected TV (CTV) advertising, generative AI, and next-generation broadcast infrastructure (ATSC 3.0 / NextGen TV), any nation whose media strategy rests solely on exporting finished content will find itself structurally disadvantaged within five years. The structural cause is plain: artificial intelligence has collapsed the marginal cost of content production, fragmented audience attention across every conceivable screen, and dissolved the distribution monopoly once enjoyed by linear broadcasters. The winners of the next cycle will be those who own the tools, not merely the stories.