Channel A posts biggest rise in viewership in 2015

Channel A, a general programming cable television channel run by the Dong-A Ilbo, saw its viewing rate rise the most sharply among all TV broadcasters including terrestrial TV, leading the ascent of cable TV.

According to the ratings survey results announced by the Korea Communications Commission on Friday, Channel A's viewing rate reached 3.520 percent last year, up by 0.864 percentage point from 2014. The increase was higher than other cable TV channels. MBN saw its viewing rate increase by 0.680 percentage point, while the ratings by JTBC and TV Chosun rose 0.331 percentage point and 0.227 percentage point, respectively. Channel A's rating increase was greater than that of MBC, which saw its rating rise by 0.269 percentage point. MBC was the only terrestrial TV channel whose rating rose in 2015.

Among the four general programming cable TV channels, Channel A ranked second in viewership, trailing MBN which showed 4.212 percent, followed by TV Chosun (3.242 percent) and JTBC (2.941 percent). Channel A's viewership rate was similar to that of tvN (3.660 percent), which stood out in dramas and entertainment shows, and closely trailed SBS (5.732 percent; excluding local private channels).

KBS led other channels in overall viewership with 13.210 percent, followed by MBC (12.240 percent; including local franchises), KBS2 (11.288 percent) and SBS (5.732 percent). However, the three major terrestrial broadcasters held a combined 47.225 percent share in the total viewership in 2015, a decrease of 4.468 percentage point year-on-year, dropping below 50 percent for the first time ever. In contrast, the four general programming cable channels held a combined share of 13.915 percent last year, an increase of 2.102 percentage point year-on-year.

The Korea Communications Commission conducted the latest survey of 4,000 households on 546 TV channels from January to December 2015. The commission plans to release viewership rates in June that would also convert to viewership the paid subscriptions of newspaper companies that are also running or owning stakes in TV broadcasters.