ENA again 0% viewership humiliation… The title is 'Happiness Battle', the reality is 'Crash Battle'

<<Yeji Ryu's Foresight>>

Reporter Ryu Ye-ji and TenAsia sees the future of the entertainment industry and its impact.

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ENA, a fledgling broadcasting company, is in jeopardy. I gathered all the best actresses in their 40s, but to no avail. The viewership rating is still around 0%.

On the 31st of last month, ENA's new work, 'Battle of Happiness', opened. 'Battle of Happiness' is a suspense thriller depicting the battle between one who tries to hide a secret and one who tries to reveal it after one of the mothers who competed for happiness on SNS (social network service) died mysteriously.

As much as we focused on the 5 female narratives, we cast all famous actresses. Lee El ("My Liberation Journal"), Jin Seo-yeon ("Believer"), Cha Ye-ryun ("Golden Mask"), Park Hyo-joo ("Shrup"), and Woo Jung-won ("Shoorup") appear.

The opening of the first episode of 'Battle of Happiness' began with Park Hyo-joo's death. As a result, she plans to find the perpetrator among the mothers who killed her. The start was hot, but unfortunately the ratings were lukewarm. The viewership rating for the first episode was only 0.7%. The second episode's viewership rating rose slightly to 0.9%, but still exceeded the 0% mark.

There are several reasons for the sluggish ratings of 'Happy Battle'. First of all, 'Battle of Happiness' reminds us of previous works such as 'SKY Castle' and 'Woman of Dignity' in that it dealt with the desires of housewives. In fact, director Kim Yoon-chul of 'Battle of Happiness' directed 'Woman of Dignity'.

It may have changed in the details. However, it is difficult to erase the afterimages of past box office hits when it comes to stories of similar genres with the same director.

The acting skills of the actors are also a problem. Was it a bad thing to put forward the characters with strong personalities and the rapid development? Overall, all 5 actresses show strong acting. Some actors were unable to permeate into the play due to awkward dialogue tones.

It was a banquet of clumsy acting that puts the fact that married actresses who are actually raising children into disrepute. Excessive expressions and stuffy vocalizations made me feel uncomfortable throughout the viewing. Even though the role in the play and real life are not different.

To make matters worse, ENA's identity confusion also contributed to its sluggish performance. As a new company, ENA has yet to find a difference or identity from other companies. The genre and target audience are also different. In the case of OCN, it was a latecomer channel, but it organized mainly dramas with strong colors, so that viewers could clearly recognize 'OCN dramas'.

In a recent business plan announcement, ENA announced that it would invest more than 500 billion won over the next three years to secure 30 dramas and produce 300 variety shows. But you can't do everything you want. Considering the current situation, industry experts point out that the focus should be on what kind of content to create rather than creating a lot of content.

ENA dramas other than 'Strange Lawyer Woo Young-woo' suffered from sluggish ratings. It ranged from 0% to the highest of 3%. Considering that 'Woo Young-woo' recorded the highest score of 17.5%, it is a very disappointing report card.

It is ENA that is busy organizing sequels without identity. It is difficult to make a production in the way of 'it will take something'. It's time to show viewers what ENA's unique color is.

Reporter Ryu Ye-ji and Ten Asia ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr