'Lovely Runner' showcases power of buzz over ratings
A scene from "Lovely Runner" / Courtesy of tvN
With the advent of online video streaming platforms, TV ratings are no longer the sole measure of a show's success, and the series "Lovely Runner" has demonstrated how impactful a strong buzz can be for a show's popularity.
According to Nielsen Korea, a leading global provider of TV data, "Lovely Runner" started with a 3 percent viewership rating for its first episode and reached 4.8 percent by its 14th episode.
Despite its relatively modest ratings, the drama has built a powerful fanbase. The show's overall buzz, along with the popularity of its lead actors, Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon, has propelled it to the top of various popularity charts.
Buzz refers to the widespread interest and excitement generated around a show, often measured by its presence and popularity across news, social media and other platforms.
Initially, "Lovely Runner" was not considered for prime time slots and was not highly anticipated. However, it has now become one of the hottest dramas.
"Lovely Runner" benefited from word-of-mouth, fueled by its availability on streaming platforms. Both the TV broadcast ratings and the cumulative viewing time for Tving's streaming service have increased steadily.
The synergy between tvN and Tving helped the drama captivate its target audience: women in their 20s and 30s, despite the limitations of its genre as a "youth drama" airing on Monday and Tuesday nights.
A scene from "Lovely Runner" / Courtesy of tvN
Popularity extends beyond Korea
tvN conducted a pre-broadcast screening to identify the selling points that appeal to the younger demographic, which were then reflected in the editing and marketing strategy.
Park Sang-hyuk, the head of channel business at tvN, is optimistic about surpassing the 5 percent rating threshold, saying, "We are confident that the strong buzz will translate into higher ratings."
Tving reported a remarkable 94 percent real-time viewing share among all live channels during the same time slot.
Although the drama's ratings have plateaued as it nears its conclusion, "Lovely Runner" remains strong in all four key areas of "buzz": the news, voice of netizens, video and social media.
Its popularity extends beyond Korea, topping the weekly viewing charts on Viu, an Asian regional streaming service, in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia for the first week of May, from April 29 to May 5.
Byeon and Kim have maintained their positions at the top of the actor buzz rankings for three consecutive weeks.
Park emphasized the importance of demographic ratings from adults aged 20 to 49.
"Content driven by buzz tends to generate even more buzz," Park said.
An analysis of tvN shows that high engagement from the 20 to 49 demographic leads to increased motivation to watch the live broadcast, and the enthusiastic response from this age group has influenced other demographic cohorts, creating the current buzz surrounding "Lovely Runner."
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.