JTBC claims top rankings for mobile
Published: 08 Jan. 2014, 22:00
According to HelloVision, the cable TV subsidiary of CJ Group, JTBC programs swept the top 15 video-on-demand ratings data on its Tving service, which is a type of N-screen service that allows viewers to watch content seamlessly on different devices such as smartphones, PCs and televisions.
The data examined the demand for programs on general programming channels - which air news shows, dramas, entertainment and sports shows, and documentaries - between Jan. 1 and Dec. 8, 2013. The data was released in late December.
The company estimates that 72 percent of viewers watch the shows using mobile devices, while only 18 percent do so on their computers. Most of them watched between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Among its 5.8 million subscribers, women accounted for 62 percent, and almost half of them are in their 20s.
As for which programs topped the chart, “Witch Hunt,” the blunt talk show about dating and relationships, ranked at No. 1, according to Tving’s VOD ratings data.
A panel of celebrities give frank consultations on relationship stories previously submitted by viewers, and continue an extended discussion with a relationship expert, invited celebrity guests and passers-by in their 20s and 30s at universities and other places.
“Witch Hunt,” which launched in August, saw its ratings jump sharply every month since September. The program was ranked at No. 15 in September, then rose to No. 6 in October and No. 4 in November, according to Tving’s VOD ratings data.
“JTBC’s popularity on a mobile-centered video provider like Tving, whose dominant numbers of clients are young people in their 20s and 30s, breaks the preconception that general programming channels are only watched by old men,” said an industry source.
Another of JTBC’s straightforward talk shows about current affairs, “Sseoljeon,” (Talk Fight) was at No. 2. “Hidden Singer,” in which a singer and his or her impersonators sing behind a curtain and the viewers vote on who is the real singer, also ranked high in fifth place (for the second season) and sixth (for the first season), according to Tving’s VOD ratings data.
“JTBC is the only general programming channel that does not lean too much on news or current events programs, keeping the programming balance among news, culture, entertainment and drama shows,” the source said. “Its hit contents like ‘Witch Hunt’ are influencing the entire broadcasters’ circle.”
BY KIM JI-YOON [jiyoon.kim@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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