The Wonder Coach craze is huge. Former national volleyball player Kim Yeon-kyung's variety show, in which she takes on the role of rookie coach of a volleyball team, is drawing intense response, sweeping both ratings and public attention.
MBC The Wonder Coach stood at the center of attention after ranking first among all Sunday shows in the 2049 ratings for its fourth episode, and in the FunDex Report: K-content competitiveness analysis released by Good Day Corporation it also ranked first in TV-OTT non-drama buzz for Sunday in the third week of Oct., and Kim Yeon-kyung ranked first in cast buzz, continuing its hot popularity.
The Wonder Coach premiered with a 2.2% rating (Nielsen Korea, nationwide households). And it doubled its ratings in just the second episode. Episode 2 rose to 4.0% and episode 3 rose to 4.7%, marking its highest-ever ratings. Episode 4 dipped to 3.9%, but the buzz remains hot.
The Wonder Coach is a team-creation project featuring volleyball legend and "volleyball emperor" Kim Yeon-kyung returning as a rookie coach.
The program drew a strong response from viewers from its first broadcast. After the Oct. 28 broadcast, as of Nov. 2, teaser and broadcast clips and various video contents exploded across platforms such as MBC YouTube, Naver TV and social media, surpassing 6.62 million cumulative views in just one episode after being released.
Among them, the Kim Yeon-kyung "bread-sitting coach's debut match" video released on MBC's flagship YouTube channel Emtturumatturu reached 1.4 million views within four days of release, heating up online communities and forums.
Platform performance has been dazzling as well. The Wonder Coach ranked first in Wavve's variety category after airing, and simultaneously became the top program driving new paid subscriptions on Wavve, proving its powerful influence in the OTT market.
Ultimately, due to such intense popularity, an extension of The Wonder Coach broadcast was confirmed. On the 23rd, MBC said the broadcast run was extended to nine episodes "thanks to viewers' strong support and positive reviews."
The volleyball legend Kim Yeon-kyung's first coaching challenge and the sincere growth narrative of the Philseung Wonder Dogs resonated strongly with viewers, prompting an outpouring of requests such as "I wish the season would continue" and "I definitely want to see the team's next match." Accordingly, MBC decided to expand The Wonder Coach's originally scheduled eight episodes to nine.
In the extended broadcasts, Kim Yeon-kyung's final match with the Philseung Wonder Dogs is scheduled to be revealed, and it is expected to capture the team's strengthened teamwork, the players' passion and Kim Yeon-kyung's heartfelt leadership.
Not only sweeping ratings and buzz, but The Wonder Coach also secured a broadcast extension thanks to viewers' intense interest. It is arguably the hottest MBC variety show.
With about two months left until the MBC Entertainment Awards, Kim Yeon-kyung is expected to walk away with at least one award.
[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by MBC
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