South Korean viewers turning away from major broadcasters to cable networks

By Park Jin-hai

KBS, MBC and SBS, the three major broadcasters in South Korea, are losing viewers.

Their media credibility has hit rock bottom, as seen in the ongoing general strike of the unions of KBS and MBC, calling for autonomy in news coverage and the resignation of its top management, who allegedly meddled in news reporting to pander to the previous two governments.

As the public broadcasters start losing viewers’ trust, viewership is dropping. In June, MBC’s prime time average viewership was topped by cable broadcaster JTBC for the first time. The dramas of the big broadcasters have been dwindling with record low viewership as well.  

With idol celebrities and star writers rushed in to salvage the situation, dramas of major broadcasting companies have struggled to reach ratings of 10 per cent. The viewership of KBS drama “Manhole,” starring big name hallyu star Kim Jae-joong from K-pop band JYJ, and actress Uee, hit 1.4 per cent, on Aug. 31. After it edged up slightly over two per cent, the romantic comedy slipped again to below two per cent Thursday.

KBS long-running show “School 2017” finished with 4.6 per cent viewership. This is lower than “School 2015,” which garnered 9.7 per cent, and far less than “School 2013,” with 16 per cent. MBC’s ongoing drama “The King in Love” and SBS “Reunited Words” have also been staggering with single digit viewership.

To make matters worse, the strike and production boycott halted popular shows on KBS and MBC and reruns have filled airtime. As a result, the public broadcasters are losing money from the sales of TV commercials. MBC’s sales price for popular shows this week is said to have dropped to 80 per cent of the previous level. On the day of the general strike it even failed to air commercials for hours as the staff members joined the production boycott.