Things are looking good for Vampire Idol, which is one of the first wave of new cable shows on the newly launched general-programming cable channels (which include JTBC, MBN, and Channel A).

The daily sitcom has had positive buzz from the start; there was enthusiasm mixed with critique about the awkwardness of the weird concept, but now that the show is settling into its groove I think those reactions are fading out. Ratings are doing pretty well, and last Thursday’s rerun episode, for instance, was the Number 1 ranked show among all the general-programming channels. Funny that the rerun did better than the new episode that aired afterward, but perhaps there’s less competition earlier in the evening than with all the prime-time offerings.

They show has been pretty amusing thus far; I’ve been tuning in periodically since we covered Episodes 1-3 and find it an easy, funny watch. The premise is utterly zany (a Hallyu-loving, 200-year-old vampire prince crash-lands on Earth with his bodyguards, and they’re taken in as an idol trainee group), but once you get past the setup, it’s pretty easy to follow.

(...)
Read the rest of Interview with the Vampire (Idols) (1,292 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 70 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, drama ratings, Hong Jong-hyun, Kim Hyun-joong (2), Kim Woo-bin, Lee Jung, Lee Soo-hyuk, Vampire Idol

E Channel’s Saturday drama Empress wrapped over the weekend, concluding its story of an upscale bar hostess out to get her revenge on the rich and powerful men who trampled over her. The show enjoyed strong ratings, ending on a high of 1.4%, and was particularly watched among twentysomething female viewers, ranking first in that demographic. Now that it’s at the end of a successful run, talk has turned to bringing it back for another season — a popular topic these days for a lot of hit cable shows.

The finale wrapped with some tears and tragedy, but also hope for the future of its characters. Empress has given E Channel a foothold in the new cable landscape, and they’re eager to see that continue. Ergo potential Season 2, according to reps at the production company, who confirmed that they’re considering the prospect favorably.

(...)
Read the rest of Empress wraps on cable, looks at a second season (387 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, drama ratings, Jang Shin-young

Rumors are swirling that MBC’s Me Too, Flower is headed for an early end, cutting down its episodes from an intended 16 to 15 instead.

The reason cited is the end-of-the-year MBC Broadcast Entertainers Awards, which is set for December 29. That’s the Thursday initially set for Me Too, Flower’s finale, so the initial plan had been to allow a double-header on Wednesday the 28th, when MBC would air 15 and 16 back-to-back. However, MBC has now stated that they won’t be opting for that plan. (...)
Read the rest of MBC considers ending Me Too, Flower’s run early (318 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 86 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drama ratings, Me Too Flower

Mondays and Tuesdays have another new show in the mix with Monday’s premiere of Light and Shadow, the showbiz-centered drama starring Ahn Jae-wook and Nam Sang-mi that follows their characters’ rise through the ’60s and onward. It looks like it’ll be in a race for second place with KBS’s medical drama Brain, which is now in its third week.

Holding steady in first place is SBS’s melodrama Thousand Day Promise, which has been closing in on the 20% ratings mark but has been unable, as yet, to break it. The drama actually settled back a bit with ratings of 16.7% and 16.8% for this week’s two episodes (it was at 17.4% the previous week), and the story did seem to spin its wheels for a bit there. But this week the plot took a few steps forward with our main couple getting married and the secret of Seo-yeon’s Alzheimer’s being revealed to more and more characters.

(...)
Read the rest of Light and Shadow premieres, battles for second place (277 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drama ratings, Thousand Day Promise

Wow. Impressive. Yesterday’s Vampire Prosecutor episode pulled in a seriously solid 2.59% viewership rating overall. It peaked at a (minute-by-minute) high of 3.31%, making it a series best. Just yesterday I’d said it might take a little bit longer for cable dramas to make it that high, but I’m happy to stand corrected on that front.

Here’s another metric to consider: Of all 20- to 30-something female viewers watching television in that timeslot, Vampire Prosecutor had a 20% share, meaning that 1 in 5 women in that demographic tuned in at the time were catching a glimpse of our chic, wry prosecutor vamp tasting the blood of victims and solving crimes. And while the blood-fueled psychometry is one of the show’s conceits, I enjoy that much of the time, Mr. Prosecutor is solving the crimes with his brains as much as he is with the extra little help he gets from Type O. And A, and B.

Although I think some episodes have been better than others, the show has definitely been picking up in the last couple of weeks. Yesterday’s Episode 6 in particular was deserving of the attention, mixing the dark premise with a touch of black humor and irreverence. With its gorgeous visuals and cinematic directing style, the drama’s got style out the wazoo. Let’s hope the drama can keep up the writing — and ratings, of course.

Via Osen

RELATED POSTS

• Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 6
• Vampire Prosecutor scores high ratings for cable
• Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 5
• Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 4
• Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 3
• Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 2
• Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 1
• The Vampires come to television

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, drama ratings, Vampire Prosecutor

You’re probably going to get sick of hearing it, but here’s yet more news that cable is standing strong: Channel CGV’s newly premiered four-parter, TV Bang-ja Chronicles, enjoyed a promising start on Saturday with an overall viewership rating of 1.510%, hitting 2.475% at its highest point. Other current cable offerings like Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, Vampire Prosecutor and Empress are performing strongly as well.

To clarify, as there have been confused comments in recent ratings posts: Cable dramas have generally aired in non-prime-time slots and therefore don’t compete directly with broadcast dramas, which air in the 10 pm hour (with dailies in the 9 pm slot). A few exceptions: tvN has tried to carve out a spot in the prime-time landscape with Manny, I Need Romance, Birdie Buddy, and Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, all of which have competed with Big Three shows.

But given that many cable dramas are late-nighters (11 pm or midnight), and because cable has an inherently more limited audience, a 1% rating is considered favorable — even if a broadcast drama would be considered a failure in the 5% range or below. Only a year or two ago, a 1% cable show was a big success, but with the way things are changing, I think we’re going to see that baseline tick up to 2% very soon.

(...)
Read the rest of TV Bang-ja Chronicles is another cable hit (138 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 29 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, drama ratings

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop just premiered two days ago, and already the headlines are touting its high ratings and the “Jung Il-woo Effect,” and noting that with its performance and positive reception, it rivals a broadcast drama.

Monday’s premiere brought in a 1.19% rating, hitting 2.27% at its highest point. Notable was its performance among the 20- and 30-something female demographic, where it was No. 1. Yeah, well duh. The boys are pretty, we have eyes. The romance is hilarious and fun. No surprise there.

(...)
Read the rest of Flower Boy Ramyun Shop scores high ratings (392 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 58 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, drama ratings, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop

With a growing wave of original cable programming in the works and a few new cable upstarts ready to launch at the end of this year, the tv landscape is changing rapidly day by day. The good news is, it looks like gambling on bigger productions and bigger stars is paying off, at least in the ratings game. Sunday OCN drama Vampire Prosecutor launched a month ago with big-name star Yeon Jung-hoon as the lead, and in four episodes has broken 2.09% average ratings. While that’s not a huge number for a Big 3 broadcaster, it’s a significant chunk of the ratings pie for cable.

(...)
Read the rest of Vampire Prosecutor scores high ratings for cable (208 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, drama ratings, Vampire Prosecutor

…or maybe it’s the deep roots that outwitted honor. KBS’s baseball-melodrama series Man of Honor had a disappointing premiere week with a single-digit ratings debut, while last week’s new drama Tree With Deep Roots shot up by almost 10% this week on SBS, and seems like a sure bet to reign in this Wednesday-Thursday timeslot for the foreseeable future.

The numbers for Wednesday: Tree With Deep Roots, 18.2%. Man of Honor, 8.2%. Can’t Lose, 8.0%.

The numbers for Thursday: Tree With Deep Roots, 19.2%. Man of Honor, 9.4%. Can’t Lose, 7.8%.

(...)
Read the rest of Tree wallops Man in the ratings game (305 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 73 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drama ratings, Man of Honor, Tree With Deep Roots

No surprise with this news: KBS’s sageuk melodrama Princess’s Man has been standing solidly in first place in the ratings for most of its 24-episode run, and it bowed out on October 6 with a series high, a 24.9% viewership rating.

[MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD! You are warned!] The drama has been promoted as a Romeo & Juliet romance set in sageuk times, but despite that tragic association, things ended rather happily for the lovers (Moon Chae-won and Park Shi-hoo), as they had a daughter together and lived on with “simple but happy lives.” Hmm, when you tell me a drama’s a tragic romance, I’m generally expecting that romance to end sadly — but I suppose there was plenty of strife along the the way to the Happily Ever After to fulfill the tragedy quotient. [/SPOILERS]

The strength of Princess kept SBS’s big buzz drama Tree With Deep Roots in single digits: Its first two episodes drew 9.5% and 9.8%, respectively. It’s a disappointing start, but I wouldn’t worry; I’ll bet those numbers jump next week with Princess over. That means the two new Wednesday-Thursday dramas will virtually be starting off on the same ground, with Man of Honor kicking off next week.

MBC’s underwatched Can’t Lose stayed in third place with a 6.4%, and will likely stay there while Man of Honor and Tree With Deep Roots duke it out for the ratings crown. Too bad, since it’s just about the only light rom-com on these days and is a pretty cute watch. (There are some lighter offerings on the weekends, in the dailies, and on Fridays with The Musical, but as far as prime-time miniseries go it’s a rom-com dry spell right now, with sageuks galore.) But them’s the breaks — the ratings world is one tough nut to crack.

Via Osen

RELATED POSTS

• Eom Ki-joon cameos on Can’t Lose
• Park Shi-hoo keeps his finale tradition alive
• Protect the Boss ends, Princess’s Man remains top ratings dog
• Can’t Lose bargains its way to extension
• Protect the Boss confirms extension
• Posters and promo stills from The Princess’s Man
• Teasers and more stills for The Princess’s Man

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 119 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drama ratings, The Princess's Man