Kim Cho-rong, the anchor of MBC News Desk (MBC)
With all eyes on the National Assembly’s second vote to impeach President Yoon Suk following his unexpected declaration of martial law, South Korea witnessed a significant surge in news viewership ratings on Saturday.
According to Nielsen Korea, "MBC News Desk," the flagship program of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, recorded the second-highest household viewership on Saturday at 11.7 percent. This figure nearly doubled the 5.9 percent it logged on Nov. 30, the Saturday before the martial law declaration.
Among the top 20 household viewership ratings logged on Saturday, the program with the highest household viewership on Saturday was KBS2’s romantic comedy “Iron Family” with 12.8 percent. MBC’s two breaking news broadcasts secured the third and fourth spots, logging ratings of 11.6 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.
SBS’s breaking news coverage ranked 13th on the list with a viewership of 3.4 percent, while KBS’s news coverage ranked the lowest among major broadcasters, placing 15th with a rating of 3.2 percent.
MBC continues to lead as South Korea’s preferred news broadcaster.
According to a Gallup Korea survey conducted from April to June with 3,004 voters aged 18 and older nationwide, 21 percent named MBC as their most favored news broadcaster, placing it at the top.
Following MBC were KBS (15 percent), YTN (10 percent), SBS (6 percent), and TV Chosun, JTBC, and Yonhap News TV (5 percent each), as of the second quarter of 2024, the latest period when the data was available.
Gallup Korea has been conducting surveys on the nation's most popular news channels since January 2013. MBC, whose primary audience demographic has traditionally leaned left, also ranked first in news channel preference in the fourth quarter of last year with 18 percent. Maintaining its lead in the first quarter of this year (19 percent), it reached a record-high quarterly preference rating of 21 percent in the second quarter.
In 2019, MBC gained attention for its coverage of investigations into allegations involving former Minister Cho Kuk and reports on the Gwanghwamun and Seocho-dong protests.
In 2022, it further gained prominence with broadcasts covering national issues such as the “Kim Keon-hee’s 7-hour phone call” in January and the exclusion of MBC reporters from boarding the presidential plane in November.
Gallup Korea noted in its report, “Since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in 2022, MBC has made significant strides.”
On YouTube, the live coverage of the National Assembly’s impeachment vote on Saturday further underscored MBC’s dominance among major broadcasters in Korea.
The official MBC News channel’s live coverage of the issue logged 4.89 million views, outpacing SBS News’s 255,316 views and KBS’s approximate 199,838 views as of Sunday.
Meanwhile, data showed that news broadcast on Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST), a streaming service offering free TV shows, movies, sports and news with advertisements, also experienced a surge in viewership.
LG Uplus, a telecommunications company which provides FAST services on LG Electronics smart TVs, saw viewership for its major FAST news channels surging by 320 percent on Dec. 3 and 4, following the declaration of martial law, according to a report by K EnterTech Hub. K EnterTech Hub is a company which researches technologies and industry trends such as streaming and media in Korea.
On Dec. 7, the day of the first impeachment vote that failed to pass due to lack of quorum, viewing time for FAST channels on LG Uplus increased by over 330 percent compared to Nov. 30, the Saturday prior, according to the report.
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