Viewing Figures: ‘Four Eagle Brothers’ Ends On A High; ‘The Young And The Restless’ Continues To Dominate
South Korea: The South Korean drama Four Eagle Brothers on KBS2 ended its first series on a high note. The Aug. 3 finale attracted 20.4% of viewers, a slight increase from the penultimate episode on Aug. 2 at 18.3%. Over the last month, Four Eagle Brothers received an impressive 19.65% of viewers, trailing sharply ahead of its competitors. The series premiered in February and aired two episodes until its finale. Four Eagle Brothers garnered strong ratings for its Feb. 1 debut, scoring 14.7% of viewers and consistently ranking first in its timeslot.
Chanel A’s My Lovely Journey, conversely, has been at the bottom of the ratings since its premiere on Aug. 2. Since its debut, the new series has had an average viewership of 0.4%. The opening episode had the highest-rated viewership, with 0.6%, while the third episode on Aug. 9 achieved only 0.2%.
On the streaming side, Netflix’s Squid Game and Unspeakable Sins tied for the most-viewed K-Dramas, with an average of 5.1 million viewers per month. Squid Game’s reign is no surprise, but it may shock some to see it sharing the number one spot. Meanwhile, with 1.4 million views over the month, The Summer Hikaru Died and Better Late Than Single tied for the least-watched K-Drama on Netflix. Only time can tell whether these ratings improve or stay at the bottom of the ranking. However, it’s unlikely Squid Game’s number one spot will change any time soon.
K-Drama Broadcast Ratings
United Kingdom: In the United Kingdom, the status quo remained unchanged, with ITV’s long-running Coronation Street scoring the highest monthly ratings, averaging 4.01 million viewers per week. While Coronation Street is ITV’s number one series, these figures are a far cry from its early ratings. On Jan. 2, 1985, the series attracted 21.40 million viewers, the largest audience in its history. In this episode, Coronation Street icon Bet Lynch finds out she has got the job as manager of the Rovers Return. Coronation Street averaged 4.114 million viewers in June, slightly above its July figures, and not surprising considering the general decline in Soap Opera and broadcast television ratings.
ITV’s Emmerdale and BBC One’s EastEnders trail slightly behind, with 3.60 and 3.26 million viewers weekly, respectively. Emmerdale and EastEnders alternate as the number two show in the UK. BBC One’s Casualty was once again at the bottom of the ratings, scoring 2.62 million viewers a week for the month. Emmerdale and EastEnders averaged similar ratings in July to their June figures. However, while still the least-watched soap, Casualty was up in the ratings from its June numbers.
United Kingdom Broadcast Soap Opera Ratings
United States: The Young and the Restless on CBS continues its long reign as the number one U.S. soap opera, averaging 3.07 million viewers weekly throughout the month, a season high. Y&R peaked during the week of July 28, with an average of 3.17 million viewers. The Bold and the Beautiful, a CBS soap opera, also saw an increase in ratings, scoring 2.58 million viewers per week for the month. Since 1988, Y&R has consistently ranked as the highest-rated daytime soap opera on the air, with B&B ranking second since 1998. In 2020, B&B briefly took Y&R’s spot as the top soap for one week, but remained in second place for the rest of the season following its sister soap.
ABC’s General Hospital also saw significant gains for the week of July 28, averaging 2.059 million viewers, a season high. Throughout the month, the longest-running American daytime soap opera averaged 1.96 million viewers, which is in line with the average for the season. Meanwhile, Beyond the Gates on CBS remains in last place, with 1.53 million viewers a week throughout the month, on par with its season average. These figures put GH in third and BTG fourth in the yearly soap opera ratings. The oldest American soap on the air has held this place ever since the 2012-2013 season, following the cancellations of sister soaps One Life to Live and All My Children, and was last in the ratings for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons due to Days of Our Lives’ move to Peacock from NBC.
