South Korea – CJ Group’s acquisition of a controlling stake in Korea’s OnMedia Corp will create an 18 channel pay-TV offering with reach of around 3 million homes. CJ Group has bought a 55.2% stake in OnMedia from shareholders including HSBC and Orion Corp. Reports say the acquisition has been placed under subsidiary CJ O Shopping; that unit’s president Lee Hae-sun is quoted as saying the takeover is part of efforts to bring together media and shopping services. The deal is still subject to approval from the Fair Trade Commission, whose decision will be announced mid-year. But high audiences for the group’s combined channels (around 21% of cable viewers) might prove an obstacle to the deal’s approval. Channels include OnMedia’s movie service OCN, lifestyle channel OnStyle and gaming service Ongamenet, while CJ Group’s CJ Media unit operates channels including CGV and Mnet.