[THE INVESTOR] Rio might be facing problems in preparation for the upcoming Olympics but television shopping channels here are buoyant hoping to profit from the international sports event.

Major sports events usually lead to a spike in number of viewers and for the Rio Olympics the time difference will serve as another plus. As the games will be held and broadcast live near dawn in Korea, viewers will stay awake rising the chances of channels hopping into shopping, and the cable televisions do not have to worry about losing them in the evening, a prime time for sales.

The Beijing Olympics in 2008 boosted the daily turnover of home shopping channels up 15 to 20 percent on average. GS Shop reported that its sales increased 23.4 percent during 2012 London Olympics from the same period previous year, especially at dawn and early morning as viewers stayed tuned to watch major games due to the eight-hour time difference with London. 


The industry is busy coming up with strategies for the Summer Olympics.

Targeting male viewers, Hyundai Home Shopping will increase 17 percent of male-oriented products such as underwear and shirts. Prepared foods and sports and leisure items will be given more time and key products will be available between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., the company said.

CJ O’Shopping will also focus on sports, leisure and home appliances, preferred by male viewers, and even go live in the middle of night if there is a Korean athlete competing.

More flexibility is the main strategy for GS Home Shopping which will place major merchandise in time for games with Korean players and put similar items in sequence so that viewers can follow both the Olympics and shopping without losing track.

Lotte Home Shopping expects interest in health and workout in general to grow, and will present rental exercise machines. TVs will also get a major push as is the trend for big sports events. 

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)