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Epic battles
29 March 2019
APRIL 2019: Korea’s broadcasters and drama producers are waging epic battles daily in a high-stakes environment with stronger competition, exploding slots, and soaring production budgets.
Korea’s drama battles, always epic, are raging stronger than ever, with intense competition among an increasing number of channels and expanding drama slots. On any given week, more than 20 premium long-form dramas compete for attention, and relative newcomers to the premium original drama space, such as TV Chosun, are being watched carefully.
The country’s three terrestrial broadcasters – KBS, MBC and SBS – are no longer the powerhouses they used to be, with top mini-series barely breaking through 10% ratings levels. Long-running 50/100-episode family dramas that target broad audiences on terrestrial networks are much stronger in terms of overall household ratings, although commercial insiders say target audiences of, for instance 20-49 year olds, are easier to monetise. That didn’t stop public broadcaster KBS from celebrating the success of its Saturday/Sunday series, My Only One, which ended its 53-episode (70 mins or 106x35 mins) run on 17 March on a ratings high of 48.9% for the 8pm drama slot.
In the limited-run mini-series space, the 20% ratings of KBS2 drama, What’s Wrong with Mr. Poong Sang, in early March, and 17% for SBS’ The Fiery Priest, are, these days, the exception rather than the rule. The two terrestrial prime-time dramas had taken over from JTBC’s Sky Castle as the most viewed mini-series in Korea as of mid-March. The 40-episode What’s Wrong with Mr. Poong Sang (also known as Liver or Die) ran to 14 March on KBS2 (10pm, Wed/Thurs). The series, which tells the story of an older brother who supports his four siblings, hit 20% for the first time at the end of February.
The Fiery Priest – SBS’s first title in its new Friday/Saturday drama slot – is about a priest, a detective and a prosecutor who join forces to investigate an elderly priest’s death. The 40-episode crime drama premiered on 15 February with double digit national ratings, dropping briefly to just under 9% for episode two but then rose steadily, hitting 18.1% by 16 March. The series runs to 20 April.
As March closed, drama across other networks and slots wasn’t telling as good of a story, although JTBC’s Monday-Tuesday drama, The Light in Your Eyes, ended its 12-episode run on 19 March at a high of 9.731% nationwide and 12.083% in Seoul. The performance of The Light in Your Eyes switched attention away from the record-breaking Friday/Saturday highs of JTBC’s previous drama, Sky Castle, and, it has to be said, away from the disappoi...
APRIL 2019: Korea’s broadcasters and drama producers are waging epic battles daily in a high-stakes environment with stronger competition, exploding slots, and soaring production budgets.
Korea’s drama battles, always epic, are raging stronger than ever, with intense competition among an increasing number of channels and expanding drama slots. On any given week, more than 20 premium long-form dramas compete for attention, and relative newcomers to the premium original drama space, such as TV Chosun, are being watched carefully.
The country’s three terrestrial broadcasters – KBS, MBC and SBS – are no longer the powerhouses they used to be, with top mini-series barely breaking through 10% ratings levels. Long-running 50/100-episode family dramas that target broad audiences on terrestrial networks are much stronger in terms of overall household ratings, although commercial insiders say target audiences of, for instance 20-49 year olds, are easier to monetise. That didn’t stop public broadcaster KBS from celebrating the success of its Saturday/Sunday series, My Only One, which ended its 53-episode (70 mins or 106x35 mins) run on 17 March on a ratings high of 48.9% for the 8pm drama slot.
In the limited-run mini-series space, the 20% ratings of KBS2 drama, What’s Wrong with Mr. Poong Sang, in early March, and 17% for SBS’ The Fiery Priest, are, these days, the exception rather than the rule. The two terrestrial prime-time dramas had taken over from JTBC’s Sky Castle as the most viewed mini-series in Korea as of mid-March. The 40-episode What’s Wrong with Mr. Poong Sang (also known as Liver or Die) ran to 14 March on KBS2 (10pm, Wed/Thurs). The series, which tells the story of an older brother who supports his four siblings, hit 20% for the first time at the end of February.
The Fiery Priest – SBS’s first title in its new Friday/Saturday drama slot – is about a priest, a detective and a prosecutor who join forces to investigate an elderly priest’s death. The 40-episode crime drama premiered on 15 February with double digit national ratings, dropping briefly to just under 9% for episode two but then rose steadily, hitting 18.1% by 16 March. The series runs to 20 April.
As March closed, drama across other networks and slots wasn’t telling as good of a story, although JTBC’s Monday-Tuesday drama, The Light in Your Eyes, ended its 12-episode run on 19 March at a high of 9.731% nationwide and 12.083% in Seoul. The performance of The Light in Your Eyes switched attention away from the record-breaking Friday/Saturday highs of JTBC’s previous drama, Sky Castle, and, it has to be said, away from the disappointing performance of Sky Castle replacement, Legal High, a remake of a 2012 Japanese TV series from Fuji TV. Sky Castle’s finale on 1 February hit 24%. Legal High premiered at 3.266% on 8 Feb – and it was downhill from there although the 16 March episode recovered a bit to 2.515% from a series low of 2.115%.
In the supernatural space, Joo Ji Hoon, who starred in Netflix’s six-episode blockbuster series Kingdom, couldn’t help MBC’s supernatural drama, Item. Five weeks in, the webtoon-inspired mystery fantasy series about a profiler and a prosecutor investigating items with supernatural powers was hovering between 3% and 4%.
Meanwhile, Netflix original Kingdom, which is said to have gone way over budget, sits with Mr Sunshine as Korea’s most expensive dramas yet at upwards of US$1.2 million to US$1.8 million per episode, depending on who you talk to.
The most recent budget topper is CJ ENM/Studio Dragon’s Arthdal Chronicles, with Descendants of the Sun star Song Joong-ki. Set in the mythical city of Asadal, the series is scheduled to air in May this year (update:ArthdalChronicles premieres on 1 June)on tvN in Korea and Netflix in the rest of the world. Industry talk is that the production budget for theArthdalChronicles is US$4 million per episode, raising the stakes across the board to unprecedented highs. What will the impact be on the rest of the industry? For now, the jury is out.
Korea’s latest dramas are crowded with prosecutors, policemen/women, lawyers and ancient characters dealing with royal court intrigue. What’s most popular? The story of a lonely guy who has spent his entire life and all his money looking after his siblings and the tale of an angry priest looking for a killer. ContentAsia looks at how Korea’s latest dramas stack up...
Published in April 2019 in ContentAsia print+online magazine for MIP TV 2019. Updated with Asadal Chronicles premiere date.
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