PLACEMENT COST
WHAT IT COSTS,IN NUMBERS.
PPL on this page means product placement: putting a product inside a broadcast programme. It has nothing to do with a private pilot licence, which shares the abbreviation and dominates the same search results in Korean. What follows is what drama and variety placement and broadcast sponsorship actually cost, and how those rates are calculated. Every figure carries a source.
Last checked
The short answer
Drama and variety placement runs from KRW 10 million to KRW 100 million per episode on published rates. The KBS sales guide published in 2024 puts simple exposure, tier one, at KRW 10 to 20 million per episode and tier two, where a performer uses the product or the brand is written in as an occupation, at KRW 20 to 50 million. The SBS published card runs from KRW 15 million to KRW 100 million.
What each product costs and what the money buys
Several quite different products sit under the word sponsorship, and most of the price difference between quotes is a difference of product. A comparison that has not matched the product is not a comparison. The table below carries only figures with a public source, and says so where none exists.
| Product | What the money buys | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor credit | The sponsor named once in a caption at the end of the programme. Nothing appears inside the programme | KRW 50 million for an end caption across a 16-episode drama, first run plus repeats. KRW 200 to 300 million reported for major titles | Foodbank 2019, Magazine Hankyung interview |
| Product sponsorship | You supply the goods and receive the sponsor credit. On-screen appearance is not guaranteed | No published rate card. Priced against the value of what is supplied | No broadcaster publication |
| Production support | You fund production and receive the sponsor credit. A form of sponsorship | No published rate card. Scales with the production | No broadcaster publication |
| Placement, tier 1 (simple exposure) | The product appears in shot. No performer use, nothing in the script | KRW 10 to 20 million per episode | KBS-2TV placement and virtual advertising sales guide, October 2024 |
| Placement, tier 2 (use or occupation) | A performer actually uses the product, or the brand is written in as a character’s occupation | KRW 20 to 50 million per episode on the KBS guide. KRW 15 to 100 million on the SBS published card | KBS sales guide October 2024, SBS M&C published card August 2026 |
The KBS guide is quoted exclusive of VAT and carries its own qualifications: tier two may vary with the direction and doubles where a location visit is involved, and the final cost may include the production company’s direction fee and wardrobe costs. The SBS figures are the actual range in the August 2026 issue of the rate card SELLi publishes in full.
SourceKOBACO public board attachment, KBS-2TV placement sales guide, October 2024
How the rate is calculated
One rule explains why no flat rate exists: a placement rate is set as a multiple of that programme’s 15-second spot rate. Every programme has a different spot rate, so every programme has a different placement rate, and when ratings rise the spot rate rises and the placement rate follows.
- Tier 1, simple exposure
- 30 to 60 per cent of the programme’s 15-second spot rate
- Tier 2, use or occupation
- 70 to 160 per cent of the programme’s 15-second spot rate
This is the rule almost every Korean explanation of placement pricing quotes. Every page that presents it as a current official formula is wrong, and the arithmetic below shows why.
First, it traces to a single newspaper article from 2014. No broadcaster and no sales house has ever published these bands. KOBACO said the opposite on its own public board.
현재 간접광고의 단가표는 따로 없습니다. 가격체계가 시청률과 노출수준에 기반하여 가격이 변동함으로 매월, 상황별로 바뀝니다.
Second, applied to the published numbers it does not reconcile. MBC 나 혼자 산다 carries a 15-second programme spot rate of KRW 13.5 to 27 million. At 70 to 160 per cent that puts tier two between KRW 9.45 million and KRW 43.2 million. The published tier two rate for a comparable variety title is KRW 50 million. The multiple has drifted upward.
| Check | Figure |
|---|---|
| MBC 나 혼자 산다, 15-second programme spot | KRW 13.5 to 27 million (variable rate band) |
| Tier 2 implied by the 2014 multiple | KRW 9.45 to 43.2 million |
| Published tier 2 for a comparable variety title | KRW 50 million |
| Conclusion | The multiple explains the direction but no longer reproduces the amount |
Spot rates are from the rate schedule KOBACO publishes monthly; the MBC schedule is quoted on a 15-second basis. For scale, KBS2 15-second break rates run from KRW 353,000 to KRW 6,748,000 depending on time class and region. The same fifteen seconds varies by a factor of nineteen on when and where it airs.
There is one more structural reason a quote is not the published rate. Terrestrial broadcast advertising is sold through an advertising sales representative, and the commission is fixed by regulation. Article 5 of the notice on outsourced producers’ placement sales requires the producer to pay the sales representative between 13 and 19 per cent of placement revenue, and the sales representative to pass 70 to 86 per cent of that commission to the advertising agency.
Market size: placement is smaller than it looks, sponsorship is growing
Judging a price needs the size of the market around it, and these are the figures most often misattributed.
- KRW 53.6bnTotal Korean product placement revenue in 2024. KRW 34.5bn terrestrial and KRW 19.1bn on programme provider channelsKOBACO broadcast and telecoms advertising survey, cited at Table 3-2-7 of the KMCC market competition assessment
- KRW 966.6bnBroadcaster sponsorship revenue in 2025, up 3.2 per cent year on yearKMCC, 2025 broadcaster financial statement report
- KRW 2.01tnBroadcast advertising revenue in 2025, down 12.3 per cent year on yearKMCC, 2025 broadcaster financial statement report
Put side by side the picture is unambiguous. Broadcast advertising is shrinking and sponsorship is growing. Terrestrial advertising fell 17.0 per cent in 2025 to KRW 693.6bn while terrestrial sponsorship rose 7.8 per cent to KRW 430.6bn. Sponsorship was the only line that grew.
And the total placement market being KRW 53.6bn matters. That is under 3 per cent of all broadcast advertising. Not because placement is trivial, but because the inventory is scarce: how many brands can appear in one drama is settled by the 7 per cent time limit in the Decree and by the story, and the whole market dividing that inventory is worth around fifty billion won.
제작비의 20~30%를 담당하는 PPL은 이제 드라마 제작의 필수 요소가 돼가고 있다
Why the marketplace averages are wrong by an order of magnitude
Search for placement cost in Korean and quote-matching marketplaces rank near the top with an average price page. Those numbers are true inside those marketplaces. They are not the price of broadcast placement, and the gap is large.
| Source | Published figure | What is being counted |
|---|---|---|
| Soomgo | Average KRW 1 million. Low KRW 150,000, high KRW 5.5 million | The average of quotes set by providers inside the platform, as Soomgo states on the page itself. Based on 2,593 quote requests and 4,339 active providers |
| Kmong | Standard KRW 9.9 million, deluxe KRW 30 million, premium KRW 60 million | Not an average. Individual seller list prices, tiered from cable and new variety titles up to established ones |
| Miso | No figure published | The placement and sponsorship category exists but carries no price and no reviews |
| KBS published sales guide | Drama tier 2 KRW 20 to 30 million. Variety tier 2 KRW 50 million | Per-episode rates published by the broadcaster itself |
Soomgo’s own category definition names drama placement explicitly. The average in that category is KRW 1 million. The broadcaster’s published drama tier two rate is KRW 20 to 30 million. That is a factor of twenty to thirty.
The two figures differ because they count different things, not because either is dishonest. What actually trades on a quote-matching marketplace is influencer sponsorship, location sponsorship and small product supply; terrestrial drama placement does not move through that channel. Kmong is the tell: its individual seller prices of KRW 9.9 to 60 million line up with broadcaster rates precisely because they are prices for real broadcast inventory rather than a platform average.
What moves the price
The same product costs different amounts for a small set of reasons. Four of these are confirmed in broadcaster and sales-house publications; the fifth is flagged as trade practice rather than documented.
- 01 · Ratings
- KOBACO named ratings and level of exposure as the pricing basis in its own official reply. Ratings move the programme’s 15-second spot rate, and placement is priced off that rate.
- 02 · Time slot
- Broadcast rates are graded SA, A, B and C by time class. KBS2 15-second break rates run from KRW 6,748,000 for SA nationwide to KRW 353,000 for C in Seoul, a factor of nineteen for the same fifteen seconds.
- 03 · Form of exposure
- The line between tier one and tier two is the price. The KBS guide adds that a location visit doubles the tier two base. Placing a product, having a performer use it, and having the brand present on set are three different prices.
- 04 · Volume and episodes
- Placement is priced per episode, so the number of episodes is the total. Sponsor credits are counted across first run and repeats: one reported case put an end caption across a 16-episode drama plus repeats at KRW 50 million.
- 05 · Overseas reuse (trade practice)
- The right to reuse the footage on overseas channels is priced separately. No government or sales-house document was found naming it as a formal determinant of the placement rate, so treat it as a separate line item rather than a pricing factor.
PPL의 경우에는 실시간으로 청약 가능 상황이 변동되어 원하시는 프로그램 및 구성, 방영시기 등의 상세 정보를 주셔야 구체적으로 확인해보실 수 있습니다.
Figures reported in the press
Beyond the broadcasters’ own publications, a handful of specific titles have had figures reported. Some are old, so read the year alongside the number.
| Reported | Figure | Year |
|---|---|---|
| SBS drama 복수가 돌아왔다, end caption | KRW 50 million across 16 episodes plus repeats | reported 2019 |
| SBS drama 복수가 돌아왔다, placement | KRW 40 million per episode, rising above KRW 300 million for three minutes across eight episodes | reported 2019 |
| 100-episode daily drama, occupation setting | KRW 500 million main, KRW 300 million secondary | reported 2019 |
| Descendants of the Sun, total placement revenue | KRW 3 billion, reported as the highest for a drama | reported 2016 |
| KBS and MBC combined placement revenue | KRW 1.73 billion in 2010 to KRW 29.25 billion in 2015 | reported 2016 |
No reporting after 2023 naming a specific title’s placement rate could be found. Use these for a sense of scale, not as a current benchmark in a negotiation.
SourceFoodbank (2019-04-05)
One report gets at density rather than price. Mediatoday watched all sixteen episodes of the drama Goblin and counted 270 separate placement appearances, an average of about seventeen an episode and thirty-three in the heaviest. It is a rare public measure of how densely brands actually appear inside one title.
What the published rate includes, and what it does not
The published rate is the media cost of the exposure. Several things attach to it, and comparing media cost alone will not reconcile two total quotes.
| Item | Included in the published rate |
|---|---|
| The broadcast exposure itself | Included |
| VAT | Excluded. The KBS guide states rates are exclusive of VAT |
| Production company direction fee | Excluded. The KBS guide flags it as a possible addition |
| Wardrobe and similar costs | Excluded, under the same qualification |
| On-location attendance | Priced at twice the tier two base |
| Creative and asset production | Excluded |
| Talent and model fees | Excluded |
| Overseas reuse rights | Excluded |
Ask for a quote broken out along these lines rather than as a single figure. It is the only way to establish later what was left out.
Frequently asked
- What does drama product placement cost in Korea?
- On published rates, KRW 10 million to KRW 100 million per episode. The 2024 KBS sales guide puts weekend drama tier two above KRW 30 million and daily drama tier two at KRW 20 million; the SBS published card runs from KRW 15 million to KRW 100 million. Without naming a programme there is no more precise answer.
- Is variety cheaper than drama?
- Not necessarily. In the KBS publication, tier two on major variety titles is KRW 50 million, above the KRW 20 million for daily drama in the same document. The rate follows the programme’s ratings and time slot rather than its genre.
- Is there a formula for the rate?
- No official one. KOBACO stated publicly that no placement rate card exists and that pricing moves monthly with ratings and level of exposure. The widely quoted multiples of 30 to 60 and 70 to 160 per cent of the 15-second spot rate come from a 2014 newspaper report and no longer reproduce today’s published rates.
- What is the KRW 1 million average on Soomgo?
- It is the average of quotes set by providers inside that platform, as Soomgo itself describes. What trades there is mainly influencer and location sponsorship; terrestrial drama placement does not move through that channel. Against the broadcaster’s published drama tier two rate the gap is a factor of twenty to thirty.
- Can anything be done on a KRW 5 million budget?
- Terrestrial drama placement, no: the published floor is around KRW 10 million per episode. Radio spots and jingles, SBS official YouTube short-form, and small product sponsorship can all be built at that level, and often produce more total exposure.
- Do quotes include VAT?
- Broadcaster published rates are exclusive of VAT, and the KBS guide says so. The same document notes that the production company’s direction fee and wardrobe costs may be added, so ask for the quote itemised.
- Why is an agency quote higher than the published rate?
- Because terrestrial advertising is sold through a sales representative and the commission is fixed by regulation. Article 5 of the notice on outsourced producers’ placement sales sets the sales commission at 13 to 19 per cent of placement revenue, of which 70 to 86 per cent passes to the advertising agency.
- Why does searching PPL cost return pilot licences?
- In Korean, PPL also abbreviates private pilot licence, and flight training costs are searched heavily under the same three letters. This page is about broadcast product placement.
Sources, all checked 4 August 2026
- KBS-2TV placement and virtual advertising sales guide, October 2024 (KOBACO public board attachment)
- KOBACO official reply on placement rate cards (2012-03-02)
- KOBACO published rate schedule
- KOBACO broadcast and telecoms advertising expenditure survey
- Korea Media and Communications Commission, 2025 broadcaster financial statement report
- Korea Law Information Centre, notice on outsourced producers’ placement sales
- Korea Law Information Centre, Enforcement Decree Article 59-3
- Seoul Shinmun, placement tier pricing (2014-03-01)
- Foodbank, what restaurant brands spend on placement (2019-04-05)
- Herald Economy, placement revenue reporting (2016-09-08)
- Magazine Hankyung, drama production cost and placement (2017-03-13)
- Mediatoday, counting every placement in Goblin (2017-01-28)
- Soomgo, average cost for placement and sponsorship
- Kmong, broadcast placement listings
- Miso, placement and sponsorship category
Tell us the budget range and the category and we will start by setting out what that budget actually reaches. If it does not reach broadcast placement we will say so.
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