Quick take:
- South Korean TV network MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) has jumped on the metaverse train.
- The company has teamed up with leading metaverse platform The Sandbox according to an announcement on Friday.
- MBC plans to open virtual versions of its iconic office building and production studios in the popular web3 gaming platform.
Leading South Korean TV and radio network Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has jumped on the metaverse train with The Sandbox. The company plans to open a virtual version of its iconic office building located in Seoul in the 3D virtual space. MBC will also create an immersive version of its production studios.
The metaverse is generally described as a 3D virtual space allowing people to interact with various entertainment and experiential events like gaming and concerts immersively. The term was popularized by Facebook last year when it rebranded to Meta Platform as an indication of the company’s new direction.
Since then, several brands, especially retail companies and video game makers have forayed into the 3D virtual realm. Others have so far opted to file various trademarks in a bid to protect their brands, while global professional services providers have virtual offices set up and ready to extend their services to the new residents of the metaverse.
MBC first made its play for the metaverse last year when it launched metaverse avatars for non-celebrity judges for The Masked Talent TV show, a spinoff of its more popular show, “The Masked Singer”.
It has since launched another metaverse show, dubbed “Avatar Singer” a metaverse music survival show, which leverages augmented reality (AR) avatars to hide the identity of the contestants.
But now, the company is expanding its presence in the 3D space by taking its famous Sangam office building to the metaverse. The company will let The Sandbox community use its virtual office building and production studios for various projects.
Commenting on the partnership, Park Jae-hoon, part manager of MBC, said (Google translated), “I have been paying attention to the 3 million users of The Sandbox and collaboration cases with Snoop Dogg and Winner Music. The success stories of the metaverse and NFT projects MBC built a priori among domestic broadcasters will give The Sandbox newness.”
The Sandbox is looking to expand the exposure of the K-verse complex it is building in partnership with Korean entertainment giant Cube Ent.
Lee Seung-hee, CEO of The Sandbox Korea, commented: “I am delighted to be with MBC, which has been creating broadcast content loved by Koreans for a long time.”
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