LIVE FROM MOBILE ASIA EXPO 2014: Jungho Shin, who leads SK Telecom’s media business, spoke about “stagnating growth” as the operator’s initial launch of mobile TV turned to disappointment.

The service launched in 2012 offering 60 video and 20 audio channels, all in real-time. The subscription was $3 per month and average data consumption by users 1.8 GB, he said.

Shin, who was speaking during this week’s mobile media session, attributed the underperformance to user fears about the burden of fees, caution about data bills and wariness over lack of content.

Instead, the operator managed a turnaround last October by bundling content into its general price plans. In addition, the company also acquired exclusive content, including baseball coverage, to draw in subscribers.

By the end of this year, SK Telecom expects to have attracted three million subscribers to the mobile TV service.

Other speakers in the same session also referenced the bundling of content into broader, 4G tariffs as one of the options for operators. For instance, it is an approach adopted by Vodafone in the UK where it includes Spotify and Sky Sports in its 4G tariffs.

Oliver Nitz, an SVP with Viacom whose job is to identity partnerships with the mobile industry, gave more examples, including the freemium one: “It’s good to get people hooked, that’s very positive”.

Or there is the advertising model where a content provider – such as Viacom – might split the spoils with an operator. “We could say ‘let’s share 50-50 on revenue’. That’s a new model for operators.”