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| ▲ These photos, provided by each local cable channel, show the posters for now-airing variety shows. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ These photos, provided by each local cable channel, show the posters for 'Mr. Trot 2' and 'Burning Trotmen.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by tvN, shows Lee Mal-nyeon and Joo Ho-min. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean national broadcasters and local cable channels are devising diversified strategies for their programs’ running time in order to draw an even more broad range of viewers to their channels, according to the broadcasting industry Sunday.
They are scrambling to find and get the most effective running time for each target group, ranging from the elderly who are used to turning on their televisions according to the air time to the younger generation who are more adept at consuming content anytime and anywhere at their preference.
The trot competition reality shows, which have a clear target audience, are committing to lengthen their running time as much as possible even if the story gets loose. For instance, the average running time of MBN’s “Glowing Trotmen” lasts for more than 2 hours and 30 minutes, with the longest fourth episode recording 3 hours and 10 minutes. It equals the screen time (192 mins) of James Cameron’s longest movie, “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
In the meantime, TV Chosun’s “Mr. Trot 2 – The Beginning of a New Legend” also lasts an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes. However, even with their running time doubling or tripling that of other variety shows, the viewership rates of such trot competition shows are noticeably higher than those of several most-watched television series.
According to data released by Nielson Korea, the highest viewership rate of MBN’s “Glowing Trotmen” was 15.2% (9th episode), and TV Chosun’s “Mr. Trot 2” recorded a high of 21.8% (7th episode). With such high rates, these local cable channels are choosing to elongate their running time as much as possible.
Hwang Jin-mi, a pop culture critic, explained, “With the shooting and editing time considered, it costs way less for broadcasters and cable channels to air a three-hour-long program than three one-hour-long programs.”
On the other hand, tvN has recently showcased a new five-minute-long variety show: Star director Na Yeong-seok’s brand-new variety show “Comic Bros,” which premiered on Feb. 17, aired for only five minutes from 10:40 p.m. The full-length video will be released on the YouTube channel “FullMoon” after the edited version is aired on the local cable channel.
The show features webtoon illustrators Lee Mal-nyeon and Joo Ho-min, who have been garnering nationwide attention among the MZers, going out to the streets to give out pictorial quizzes and have interviews with citizens.
Director Na’s upcoming game variety show “The Game Caterers” will also be shortening the running time to five minutes from season 2 and re-running the entire episode on its YouTube channel.
His other show “Things that Make Me Groove,” hosted by singer Eun Ji-won and Super Junior’s Kyu-hyun setting p snacks and inviting guests to talk, is also a five-minute-long talk show.
Such an unprecedently short running time is interpreted as Na and the local cable channel tvN taking into account the remarkable content consumption pattern of the younger generation who are accustomed to consuming content via online video streaming services and YouTube.
A tvN official said, “To quote what Director Na said on the talk show ‘You Quiz on the Block,’ we are trying to do something new to be in line with the diversification of video streaming platforms and consumption patterns compared to the past when there only was television.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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