Translation result
KBS ranked first in the audience-share calculations across all broadcasters, while TV Chosun led among general programming channels. Still, KBS, TV Chosun, JTBC and satellite operator KT Skylife (which carries channels such as ENA) all posted slight declines from 2023. KBS’s loss over the past decade was especially pronounced.
On April 20, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission, chaired by Kim Jong-cheol, convened a plenary session at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex in Gwacheon. Commissioners voted to select the institution and data for estimating daily newspaper subscription rates and approved the method for calculating broadcasters’ 2024 audience shares.
Among terrestrial broadcasters, KBS led with a 20.8% share, followed by MBC at 10.9%, SBS at 7.5% and EBS at 1.8%.
Among general programming and news channels, TV Chosun topped the list with 7.4%, followed by JTBC (6.1%), Channel A (4.8%), MBN (4.7%), YTN (3.4%) and Yonhap News TV (3.2%).
Among pay-TV channel operators (PPs), CJ ENM held a strong 11% share, while satellite broadcaster KT Skylife, which carries channels such as ENA, registered 3.6%.
However, KBS (21.4%), which topped the terrestrial category, and TV Chosun (8.0%), which led the general programming group, both saw their shares decline from 2023.
Notably, KBS’s audience share fell sharply from 31.2% in the 2014 survey to 20.8% a decade later. Over the same period, MBC dropped from 15.6% to 10.9%, and SBS declined from 9.11% to 7.5%.
Audience share measures the proportion of viewing attributed to a broadcaster’s corporate entity and its related parties over the course of a year. The calculation aggregates affiliated channels; because KBS operates two terrestrial channels, its figure is larger compared with other terrestrial broadcasters. For general programming channels, the calculation also factors in the influence of affiliated newspapers. The SBS figure excludes regional commercial broadcasters with different corporate ownership.
The commission selected the Korea Press Foundation’s 2024 Media Audience Survey as the data source for estimating daily newspaper subscription rates used in the 2024 audience-share assessment. The media exchange rate — which expresses a newspaper’s relative influence when TV is set to 1 — was 0.48 for 2024.
Commissioners argued that the current method for calculating audience share does not fully reflect the transformed media landscape, including the growing influence of OTT and IPTV platforms.
“We currently set the media exchange rate based on advertising revenue, which simply compares broadcasters and newspapers,” Commissioner Ryu Shin-hwan said. “We should factor in broader measures of influence when calculating the exchange rate. I hope OTT platforms are included starting in 2025.”
Chair Kim Jong-cheol urged commissioners to acknowledge the gap between broadcasters and newspapers and stressed that future calculations should be grounded in realistic, practicable standards.
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