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Drama viewership ratings for the week of Sept. 18-24, 2017

We had a couple shows end this week, though in different time slots—The King Loves ended with 7.6%, which can hardly be considered a success, but in the current climate (where only Hospital Ship seems capable of pulling in double digits), it did pretty darn well for itself. Reunited Worlds ended on a slightly lower note, in keeping with the ratings it’s been pulling in all along, so no real surprise there.

Meanwhile, we had one new premiere in Temperature of Love, and with its fourth episode netting 9.2%, it seems poised to break the 10% ceiling within the next week. But next week will also bring with it new competition, so we’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

As for the weekend shows, it turns out I’ve been misreporting Sister Is Alive’s ratings/episode numbers because SBS decided to be even more experimental with the time slot. Now, instead of airing two full episodes every Saturday, they’re airing four 35-minute episodes, and have been doing so since the beginning of September(-ish).

I don’t understand the change myself, but it seems like some sort of weird ratings grab, since airing the two episodes in succession was already a ploy for numbers (since the second episode had less competition). Now I don’t know what they’re going for, but it seems to be working out well for them, so… more power to them? But here’s hoping that Rescue Me pulls in some decent numbers for its finale week. Our wishes will be fulfilled!

 
Drama viewership ratings for the week of Sept. 18-24, 2017

Ep. # Station Rating
Monday, Sept. 18
Lingerie Girls’ Generation 3 KBS 4.1%
The King Loves 37 MBC 5.8%
The King Loves 38 MBC 6.8%
Temperature of Love 1 SBS 7.1%
Temperature of Love 2 SBS 8.0%
Argon 5 tvN 2.6%
Tuesday, Sept. 19
Lingerie Girls’ Generation 4 KBS 4.1%
The King Loves 39 MBC 7.2%
The King Loves 40 MBC 7.6%
Temperature of Love 3 SBS 7.2%
Temperature of Love 4 SBS 9.2%
Argon 6 tvN 3.1%
Wednesday, Sept. 20
Manhole 13 KBS 2.6%
Hospital Ship 13 MBC 9.8%
Hospital Ship 14 MBC 11.6%
Reunited Worlds 37 SBS 5.4%
Reunited Worlds 38 SBS 6.6%
Criminal Minds 17 tvN 2.5%
Thursday, Sept. 21
Manhole 14 KBS 2.3%
Hospital Ship 15 MBC 10.5%
Hospital Ship 16 MBC 12.4%
Reunited Worlds 39 SBS 6.1%
Reunited Worlds 40 SBS 6.7%
Criminal Minds 18 tvN 2.9%
Friday, Sept. 22
Age of Youth 2 9 JTBC 2.8%
Strongest Deliveryman 15 KBS 5.1%
Saturday, Sept. 23
My Golden Life 7 KBS 26.2%
Strongest Deliveryman 16 KBS 7.7%
Man Who Sets the Table 7 MBC 6.5%
Thief-nom, Thief-nim 39 MBC 8.3%
Sister Is Alive 53 SBS 10.2%
Sister Is Alive 54 SBS 18.1%
Sister Is Alive 55 SBS 20.5%
Sister Is Alive 56 SBS 20.4%
Age of Youth 2 10 JTBC 3.1%
Rescue Me 15 OCN 3.2%
Live Up to Your Name 13 tvN 5.6%
Sunday, Sept. 24
My Golden Life 8 KBS 30.9%
Man Who Sets the Table 8 MBC 9.8%
Thief-nom, Thief-nim 40 MBC 11.8%
Rescue Me 16 OCN 4.8%
Live Up to Your Name 14 tvN 5.4%

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I really curious how weekdays timeslot lagging when tvN comes up against Big 3 from next month

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What is the benchmar/threshold for good ratings? Like, I know that 20% is considered huge for both network and cable,buf that's excellent. What is considered good? 6%? 9%

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10% is what kbs, sbs and mbc target for a show to be successful. a very popular show with a probability of episode extensions has to get at least 15% - 18%. shows which get above 20% are considered a huge success. the ones with above 25% are rare and get watched by people in all age brackets and are the talk of the town during its run. Some of these shows are I hear your voice and descendants of the sun. this year it was defendant which crossed that mark.

for cable, earlier it used to be 2%-3% for a successful show but now it must at least get above 5% to be considered successful ratings-wise

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Ah okay, thank you

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The successful rate keeps dropping. Next thing we know, 5% would be considered good ratings for primetime shows.

I hope the major broadcast would get their crap together because viewers, top actors etc have been turning to JTBC,TVN and OCN.
I can't say we didn't see this coming from years ago.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2017/09/688_236440.html

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2-3 for cable is totally fine though? not every network can be tvn lol. tvn does tend to expect higher than that (But over 5 is asking alot even so, but esp in the current ratings climate and with bigger competition from jtbc and ocn these days).
but yeah for most cable channels and shows between 2-4 is Decent to Good. below 2 is mediocre to poor (depending on how close to zero it is) and ofc above 5 is when we start getting into HIT territory but not every drama needs to be a hit to be considered successful esp if it makes back the money it took to make it and then some. (usually the goal there). fr example Deserving of the Name is doing quite well for itself and is scoring higher than the other weekend cable shows. but it's not breaking records the way the Reply series or Goblin did, and JTBC's record breaking hits were still not nearly as high rated as tvn's biggest hits. because jtbc usually scores a bit lower to begin with so expectations are different. and with cable it is highly predicated on how many people have access to the channel. alot of people might be watching AOY2 On Demand or some other way if they dont have the actual channel. TVN is just more popular in general so i suspect there are more subscribers to the channel than to OCN or JTBC. thats why the rating litmus is just not the same and shouldnt be treated as such. i'd say Save Me and AOY2 are doing just fine even if they arent hits as far as the on air ratings go.

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the 5% rating i was talking about was about popularity in all age brackets. shows like save me and aoy2 are generally targeted towards a particular audience.
Obviously, since these channels don't really depend on advertising the writers write the shows targeting the audience they want to write for.
The success criteria for cable shows is not really fixed unlike the big 3. but as more people are starting to watch tvn, jtbc and ocn shows, the producers want to target for 4%- 5% atleast when they have big stars in their shows like park bo young or gong yoo.
for example criminal minds which is currently airing right now with big actors like lee joon ki and moon chae won wanted to hit the 5% mark like k2 did last year. what i want to say is it also depends on the actors in the show.
earlier not many big actors did a drama with tvn or jtbc so 2%-3% was considered a success. but now as the Hallyu stars like ljk and jcw who have huge salaries do cable the expectations are also higher.

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The King Loves is my current addiction and I am still in withdrawal.... I love the ending. It's sad... but bittersweet. Unfortunately, the fan war is too much... The crazy shippers even came to DB and post hate comments even threatening hong jong hyun and yoona. Thankfully DB deletes those toxic comments immediately...
I guess this wouldn't happened if MBC had better promotional posters and didn't have 2 version of the drama where the k-version cut so many scenes that shows clearly about the one San's love.
I personally also thought viewers are not ready with the concept of selfless and unselfish love... and to differentiate reel to real.
I don't know anymore... Sigh...
I just wish the best of luck for HJH (poor guy... He doesn't deserve to get all that bash and hate comments in his social media accounts. And I don't think he will get post-drama interview either. But who knows...), Yoona and im siwan.
For sure, I am gonna rewatch TKL and enjoy the beauty of friendship and selfless love..

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Argon's doing better than Criminal Minds, tat too in a slot that hardly got over 3% this year. I still have high hopes of it getting subbed after it finishes airing but seriously is it because that the stars are no Hallyu superstars that there are no volunteers for subbing either?

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Someone commented it was better than Forest of Secrets, that immediately got my attention! Too bad there's no sign of subs.

Criminal Minds' ratings are most disappointing since it had the hype and budget to be a tVN hit.

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Probably Netflix has got the rights to it and no mere fan-person's bothering to sub because Netflix will take it down anyway.

Like Answer Me 1997 and Dramafever (I still hate them for it). (The fan subs were so much more detailed and delivered the subtlety in the dialogues so much better.) (And VIKI was the one fansubbing it!)

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Argon is much better compared to criminal minds, the ahjussis acting is of higher quality even though both stories aren't too crisp

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All networks, please make way for SBS as it will ascend to the throne to claim the 20% triple 👑👑👑 as Temperature of Love, While You Were Sleeping and Sister Is Alive all very likely to pass 20% next week.

I guess SBS will achieve PAK (Perfect All Kill). 👏

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Rooting for Temperature of Love to reach double digits soon, I don't know how high it would be, but I believe it can reach what Falsify got at least.

GG 1979 even got higher rating than Manhole, although its rating also not high, but still better.

Congrats to SD team which got their highest rating for final epi. Just wondering, if this drama was in Manhole's slot for example, would the rating is higher or lower? Anyway looking forward to Confessions Couple for next.

While You Were Sleeping will start next week, good luck show! And Lee Jong-suk even spoiled us about the kissing scene will happen in epi 11 during press conf LOL😂 (as he expected the rating will go higher on that epi) - I only read about it, I didn't watched the entire press con by the way.

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Yay for Argon doing relatively well despite lack of promos and hype. Haven't started watching it, but I just want CWH to do well in everything

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Happy that Strongest Delivery man ended with descent ratings :)

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lingerie girls' generation deserves more love~ judging from the competition 4% isnt that bad. but it still deserves more love. the cast is relatively unknown but they are doing such a great job. bona is surprisingly good. the story, tone and colour is nostalgic. it is set in turbulent times in korea, back in 1979. up to now, the story seems simple but i'm intrigued to know what happens next. the soundtrack is also amazing.

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I'm curious to see how TVN's new weekday schedules will change the ratings game next month, what with premieres and all.

On the other hand, my excitement for new JTBC/TVN dramas is being dampened by this seemingly new normal of having no subs :(

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I've not been following up with subbing news lately. Could someone summarize to me what is happening and causing the lack of subs for so many dramas? There has not been anything new I absolutely need to watch but that will change soon.

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I believe it is a combination of various things. It's a pity and things are becoming way too complicated. Netflix is apparently getting the rights to several dramas, preventing sites like DramaFever and Viki from airing them. Also, the creation of Kocowa and their partnership with Viki is also complicating things.

Basically it's all a big mess lol.

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Has Netflix definitely snagged some more shows? I hadn't heard them grabbing up anything since White Nights & Man 2 Man.

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Yeah, what Mindy said. And Netflix only releases the drama when it's done airing in Korea.

Plus for those of us who doesn't have a way to legally watch the shows even if we wanted to, the "other" sites would usually get them from DF and Viki. Since they don't seem to have the rights... :'(

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It would mean drama ratings of free-to-view channels will further decline. Basically all these channels have to share the declining drama market. Variety shows are booming in Korea right now.

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Wow, nothing even hit double digits on the weekdays except for Hospital Ship. I wonder if Koreans are getting tired of dramas. I'd be curious to know what they're watching instead.

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Ooh... Rescue me is now at 3% ratings. I'm just sad its ending this week. 😥

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Rival had left the building. Time for AOY2 breaks records left and right.

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I'm happy for the rating of "My Golden Life." I'm a big fan of the veteran couples. Fantastic reliable actors who are now taking supporting roles in their old age.
"Father is Strange"- Kim Yeong-cheol and Kim Hae-sook.
"My Golden Life"- Cheon Ho-jin and Kim Hye-ok.
They all deserve to end their career on a high note.

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Right about that and all of them act well but Park Shi Hoo is total miscast not to mention his character makes me want to throw something at the tv screen.....I swear sticking for Shin Hye Sun

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I am with you .. a reason the rating is high is because of the veterans actors and actress and Korean viewers like Shin Hye Sun acting is just so fresh to the eyes.

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The current drama offerings are pretty stale for the most part. The only one I'm watching is Age of Youth 2. I hope this week's premiers are good!

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None of k-dramas interact me right now. Getting bored with the typical formula of k-dramas.
Romance, melo, comedic use similar scenario and stories.
Why don't they make intelligent dramas more like Misaeng or Signal? Or the real romcom like Another Miss Oh, or smart melodrama like Memories of Bali or simple comedic drama like Full House?
I miss the old korean dramas where the viewers were difficult to predict the ending.

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Why is Live up to your name so underrated? 😔😔😔 this is the only drama that got me out from my drama slumped year. Not that many good dramas this year. 😪😪😪

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It's far from underrated. A 6.5% ratings (it's highest) on cable is very good.

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But its rating is declining.

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That doesn't mean it's underrated in Korea though.

I'm guessing it's not getting as much attention among international kdrama watchers because the it's not available on any legal streaming sites.

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It is on VIU.

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I'm a super curious about Argon since it's actually pulling decent numbers. No recap in dramabeans so far sadly; will anyone chime in to let me know if it's any good? I love Kim Joo Hyuk in 1N2D but I want to make sure a drama is good before I start watching. Talk about risk-averse :D

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I've been wondering the same thing about Argon. I rely on DB so much that if they don't recap something I often forget that it exists and I have no idea of whether I would like it or not.

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I absolutely love Argon! It's a show that revolves around a cast of characters rather than some overarching plot, so if shows about characters are your thing, I would highly recommend it. Also, it has a relatively mellow tone without too many histrionics, which makes sense given the director's past credits (ignoring the behind-the-scenes drama of her last show).

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Just my cup of tea! But since I don't understand Korean, cannot watch it raw :(

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ANdante aired

Live upto your name - nice pun.
rescue me crossed 3% i'm5 episodes behind. ep 9-10 were too boring and infiltrating from inside is such a cliche move.
Sister is alive - thank for the shoutout.
Even ManH is able to draw 2%

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Strongest delivery man and manhole should have switched time slots. But when all is said and done SDM did good considering its late night timeslot

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The Great Hospital Ship Tamasha!
I kid, this week's episode were actually really okay and not as dramatic as the previous ones.

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Does anyone know how many episodes AOY2 has? I just watched episode 10 last night and I would hate it to be finale week next week with that cliffhanger :/ I want MORE

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14 episodes. That's what I heard.

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I've heard everything from 12 to 14 to 16 lol I have no clue anymore!

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The Premiere Watch post here at DB says the Ep Count will be 12. Don't know if it was extended or something

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It's almost time to put manhole out of its misery. I liked the cast though, I hope all of them choose better projects next time!

Much as it makes my fangirl heart sad, even I can't watch a show where no action of any character seems to matter in the end because we keep resetting everything randomly. Not even for Jaejoong.

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Rating of most shows are poor cos always reusing same storyline- always school dramas, time travel etc. also some pairings are off- still don't see any chemistry of hjw with male lead. Only live up to your name is good cos of the male lead- his acting is very good

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And the chemistry between the lead. Gawd...I even found myself giggling during their lovey dovey act.

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Like US ratings, Korean prime time ratings are in tatters. Just pitiful frankly. Only a couple of years ago a hit would have to break 20% as a minimum; now only 6 2017 prime time shows have debuted with more than a 10% share. There's only one current show to pull in double digit ratings, and none likely to rise even close to 20%. Has even one show pulled in an average of 20% this year? The networks must be in dire financial problems with the ad revenue falling and investments from China being blocked by the Communist regime.

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I noticed some Korean dramas are still streamed in China.

Criminal Minds is being broadcasted through Iqiyi streaming site.

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I think many viewers these days opted to watch dramas via streaming.

I think the ratings are becoming less relevant.

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Some dramas are trying every trick in the book to land a few more rating points like "my sister is alive" they air 2 episodes weekly and suddenly they binge up to 5 episodes on the weekend trying their best to finish airing before the network drops them or cut episodes, kdrama industry is rough on small rating dramas and sponsors pull out if they don't meet required ratings,
I miss queen seonduk and jumong days, dramas had literally 60% ratings and Korean streets were empty 😂😂🅱️🅱️

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