The Korea Media and Communications Commission finalized the 2024 audience share calculations for broadcasters at its third general meeting on the 20th.
The review covered 166 operators running 285 TV channels, and applied a method that adds related-party equity and a converted newspaper subscription rate to each operator's share of total television viewing time.
Among terrestrial broadcasters, KBS was highest at 20.862%, followed by MBC at 10.978%, SBS at 7.550%, and EBS at 1.859%. Among general programming channels, TV CHOSUN was 7.441%, JTBC 6.145%, Channel A 4.877%, and MBN 4.754%, while among news channels, YTN was 3.459% and Yonhap News TV 3.285%. Among program providers, CJ ENM was highest at 11.092%, and KT Skylife recorded 3.687%.
KBS, TV CHOSUN, and JTBC edged down from a year earlier, while Channel A, MBN, YTN, and Yonhap News TV rose. The media exchange rate reflecting the influence gap between TV and daily newspapers was calculated at 0.48.
Audience share is a key regulatory indicator to prevent monopolies in public opinion in the broadcasting market and to maintain media diversity, and the Broadcasting Act in principle caps it at 30% or less. However, the meeting also noted that the system itself has not kept pace with the rapidly changing viewing environment.
Commissioners pointed out that even though viewing via OTT, IPTV, non-real-time VOD, and smartphones and PCs has grown, the current calculation framework still centers on traditional TV. In fact, KOBACO is also conducting parallel surveys of TV VOD and N-screen viewing to derive an integrated audience share going forward.
Chairperson Kim Jong-cheol of the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) said, "There is a need to review realistic standards and legal and institutional updates in line with the changed media environment."
At the meeting, as a separate agenda item, the commission also approved the suitability of generating and processing linkage information by 75 operators including NICE Information Service and Naver, and accepted the approval for a change in OBS Gyeongin TV equity. By contrast, an administrative disposition regarding a Radio Waves Act violation tied to KBS's UHD pilot broadcasting was put on hold to reexamine the legal basis and policy direction.