MBC Tops Presidential Election Vote Counting Broadcast Ratings at 11.7%
Creative Graphics and Traditional Coverage Shape Viewer Preferences
Highest News Ratings of the Year for "Choice 2025 Special News Desk"
A scene from the MBC election broadcast countdown video 'That Day, Together Now'. YouTube screen capture
MBC ranked first in viewership ratings for the 21st Presidential Election vote counting broadcast.
According to Nielsen Korea on June 4, MBC's "Choice 2025" recorded a household viewership rating of 11.7% in the Seoul metropolitan area from 5 p.m. to midnight the previous day, ranking first in its time slot. The rating surged to 19.4% for 30 minutes immediately following the release of the exit poll results, and peaked at 20.6% around 8 p.m. The viewership rating among the 20-49 age group was 9.6%.
During the same time slot, KBS1 recorded 3.6%, and SBS recorded 3.1%. MBC also achieved a 14.7% viewership rating and a 7.4% rating among the 20-49 age group for the "Choice 2025 Special News Desk" broadcast immediately following the vote counting, marking the highest ratings among all main news broadcasts aired this year.
Just before the exit poll announcement, MBC aired a countdown video titled "That Day, Together Now." The video featured scenes such as athlete Sohn Kee-chung at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, citizens running along the Han River in Seoul in 2025, director Na Woon-gyu's film "Arirang" (1926), director Bong Joon-ho, independence activist Ahn Jung-geun holding a gun, and Kim Yeji, the silver medalist in shooting at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the end, a scene of Yu Gwan-sun smiling brightly and shouting "Manse" (Hurray) drew strong responses from viewers.
SBS attempted to differentiate itself with computer graphics inspired by the Netflix series "Squid Game." The two candidates, dressed in tracksuits in their respective party colors, played "Red Light, Green Light" and were shown dancing and sending hearts while riding bicycle machines. While viewers responded that the broadcast was "fun to watch" and "creative," some criticized it as "excessively comical" given the political context of the early presidential election.
KBS maintained a traditional news format, focusing on real-time data visualization and analysis-centered vote counting coverage. Without computer graphics or entertainment elements, KBS concentrated on delivering information, but its ratings were relatively low.
In the 2022 presidential election, KBS ranked first with a viewership rating of 8.25%, while MBC and SBS recorded 4.9% and 4.25%, respectively. However, in both last year's general election and this presidential election, MBC took the top spot in vote counting broadcast ratings, resulting in mixed reactions.
This presidential election was an early election held due to the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the final voter turnout was tallied at 79.4%.
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