Echostar buys a stake in South Korea’s TU Media

MUMBAI: US satellite service provider Echostar has become the second-largest shareholder in South Korea’s TU Media.

It operates a satellite digital mobile broadcasting (S-DMB) service.

TU Media has raised $74.7 million.

The company said that its largest shareholder, SK Telecom, and Echostar purchased 9.95 million new shares of TU Media to raise the company‘s capital to 288.2 billion won.

TU Media said that the partnership with Echostar would help accelerate its efforts to make inroads in overseas markets.

In 2005, TU Media started the S-DMB service. This allows users to watch TV on a mobile device.

The company cliams to have attracted more than 1 million subscribers for the fee-based mobile broadcasting service since its launch. It aims to raise the number to two million this year.