Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Big Hit Entertainment chairman Bang Si-hyuk expressed "high expectations" on the creation of a new K-pop band after he was selected to become the general producer for a TV reality program to cultivate next-generation artists. It would be the first project by Belift Lab, a content media joint venture established by CJ ENM and the agency of K-pop band BTS.

I-Land, a TV show jointly produced by Mnet, a K-pop cable channel run by CJ ENM, and Big Hit, will go on air on June 26. The TV program combines the K-pop-focused production expertise of Mnet with the music producing experience of Big Hit to feature competition and partnership among K-pop star wannabes.

Mnet has built a massive arena exclusively for I-Land. "I will help participants with unlimited potential develop themselves and develop their capabilities as artists based on autonomy," Bang said in a statement released through his company. "I have high expectations on how they will grow."

Belift has launched an audition to form a boy group in 17 cities in South Korea and other countries from March through July last year. Big Hit and CJ ENM have agreed to discover and foster new global idols. Big Hit is responsible for producing artists, while CJ ENM will discover and support artists through its business network.

Bang has nurtured BTS as a global K-pop band, but he still stands far behind the country's three heavyweights in terms of brand power and revenue. CJ ENM, a top entertainment and mass media company in South Korea, has been the frontrunner in the expansion of Hallyu (Korean cultural wave).