This year, the presence of terrestrial content at the Baeksang Awards was minimal.
At the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards held on March 5 at Coex D Hall in Seoul, MBC's 'Intimate Betrayer' won the institutional sector directing award (Director Song Yeon-hwa) and the Best New Actress award (Chae Won-bin), achieving two awards. In a flood of impressive content, they secured two valuable trophies.
Chae Won-bin, who held the trophy after surpassing 'The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call' Ha-young and 'Eongseok Sojana' Kim Tae-yeon, noted, "Just being nominated is already an honor, so I don't know how to express my gratitude for receiving an award. I have learned so much thanks to my respected senior Han Seok-kyu, who felt like a father to me, and all my fellow actors. I want to act for the rest of my life. I will quietly and diligently pursue my acting career."
This year, as OTT and cable channels dominated major sectors, terrestrial broadcasting struggled in both the drama and entertainment sectors. Apart from 'Intimate Betrayer's' two awards, SBS's 'Good Partner' featuring Jang Na-ra received the Best Actress in the institutional sector and Kim Jun-han was named a nominee for Best Supporting Actor, maintaining some decency.
However, aside from these two works, other terrestrial dramas, including KBS, were completely eliminated from major sector nominations, further highlighting the decline in content competitiveness. The absolute strength of Netflix and the rapid growth of OTT content is accelerating viewer attrition.
The entertainment sector also continued to show a slump for terrestrial broadcasting. This year, the nominees for Best Entertainment Program included tvN's 'Iron Squad,' Mnet's 'Stage Fighter,' YouTube's 'Ajo's Life,' YouTube's 'Wind Direction High,' and Netflix's 'Culinary Class Wars.' Terrestrial entertainment programs such as KBS, MBC, and SBS did not have a single nominee. This stands in stark contrast to 'Culinary Class Wars' winning the grand award in the broadcasting sector.
It is difficult to expect the same status as in the past in terms of both viewership and influence. Amid the diversification of genres and platforms, whether terrestrial content can regain its foothold remains to be seen.
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