Self-destruction of the popular ‘Captivating the King’

《Taeyuna’s Listening Bodbo》
Reporter Tae Yu-na and Ten Asia will properly cover all aspects of the drama based on what she heard and saw on the spot. We will be the eyes and ears of readers in an era where dramas are flooding in on numerous channels.

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tvN's Saturday-Sunday drama 'Captivating the King, The Bewitched', which was riding a trend of rising viewership ratings, made a self-destructive decision. It was decided to broadcast 4 episodes in a row over 3 days during the Lunar New Year holiday. It appears to be a strategy to take advantage of the vacancy in a situation where many dramas are canceled due to the holidays, but there is great concern that it does not take into account the decline in viewership ratings due to the aftermath of the holidays.

On the morning of the 5th, 'Captivating the King' announced its plan to schedule the Lunar New Year holiday along with review data for the 6th episode. What caught the eye was that it would be broadcast for three days in a row from the 9th to the 11th. In addition, it was decided to broadcast episodes 9 and 10 consecutively from 9:20 PM on the 11th. As a result, 'Captivating the King' will air a total of 4 episodes, 3 days a week.

It is unusual for a Saturday-Sunday drama to add programming on Fridays. This is seen as an attempt to take the lead in viewer ratings as many terrestrial dramas are canceled due to special broadcasts during the Lunar New Year holiday. During this period, SBS's 'Chaebol The same goes for TV Chosun’s ‘My Happy End’.

It may be seen as a game-changing move on the part of 'Captivating the King', but it is more like a self-defeating move. Usually during the holidays, the viewership ratings of dramas that are normally broadcast often show lower results than usual. This is because a large number of special movies and special entertainment programs are organized, and because many people go out during the holidays, it may be difficult for the existing viewer base to watch TV. Even during the Lunar New Year holiday last year, many dramas and entertainment shows took a direct hit in viewership ratings. Because of this, there are many cases where some shows are canceled, but 'Captivating the King' actually attempted a strategy of airing four episodes during the holidays. In particular, in the case of the 9th, it is expected that there will be many viewers who are unaware of the broadcast itself because it is not the day of the week on which 'Captivating the King' was previously broadcast.

Although the competing work in the same time slot, ‘Goryeo Khitan War’, has been cancelled, the special program is also very challenging. KBS2 organized the Lunar New Year special 'Jinseong Big Show BOK, Korea' at 9:15 pm on the 10th. KBS' Lunar New Year's special is a program that has achieved double-digit viewership ratings every year, starting with 'Korea Again Na Hoon-a', which recorded a viewer rating of 29% in 2021, to 'Bloom, Republic of Korea Shim Soo-bong' and 'We're HERO Lim Young-woong'.

In this year's KBS Lunar New Year's special stage, Jin-seong appeared as the main character, Dong-won Jeong, Ho-jung Kim, and Chan-won Lee appeared as guests, and Yun-jeong Jang appeared as MC, completing a strong lineup.

Continuing to air episodes 9 and 10 of ‘Captivating the King’ is also a decision that is difficult to understand. 'Captivating the King' previously aired episodes 1 and 2 back to back, but suffered a huge loss in viewership ratings. It started with 4.0% in episode 1, but the second episode, which was broadcast in succession, dropped to 3.1%, recording the lowest viewer rating. Due to this, it also showed 3.3% in the 3rd episode, but only rebounded to 6.0% in the 4th episode.

'Captivating the King' is receiving great response due to the solid acting skills and quality of actors such as Jo Jung-seok and Shin Se-kyung. In particular, in episode 4, the story continued quickly, with Jo Jung-seok ascending to the throne and Shin Se-kyung beginning to seek revenge, and word of mouth spread. In this situation, organizing the Lunar New Year holiday seems to do more harm than good. Attention is focused on whether 'Captivating the King' will be able to properly gain momentum during the holiday season after hearing concerns, whether it will take a direct hit and suffer the bitter taste of a decline in viewership ratings, and what results the change in programming of 'Captivating the King' will bring.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr