Viewing Figures: ‘Our Golden Days’ Remains top-rated K-Drama; Daytime soaps’ Numbers stay consistent
South Korea: Since its premiere in August, Our Golden Days has remained the number one ongoing drama series. In November, the series averaged 15.02 percent of viewership in South Korea, slightly above its October average of 13.86 percent. Airing every Saturday and Sunday on KBS2, Our Golden Days scored its highest viewership thus far on November 30, scoring 17.4 percent. Conversely, the October 5 episode reached only 11.3 percent of viewership, the lowest rating Our Golden Days has received so far. Still, it was the number one show that night.
Our Golden Days achieves far higher viewership percentages than its competition. Airing every Friday and Saturday, the SBS TV drama series Taxi Driver ranks second place in the K-Drama ratings, with a 9.67 percent of viewership share since its debut on November 21. Meanwhile, TV Chosun’s Don't Call Me Ma'am received the lowest viewership percentage over the month. Airing every Monday and Tuesday, Don't Call Me Ma'am reached 1.95 percent of viewership in November.
Netflix: On the streaming side, the South Korean romantic comedy series Dynamite Kiss was the most-watched non-English language program, with six million views over the month. The series airs first-run episodes on SBS TV, but achieves far better ratings on Netflix. Meanwhile, season one of Just Alice achieved only one million views in November, fewer than any non-English language series.
United States: Over in the States, the status quo remains the same with daytime dramas. Scoring 2.87 million viewers throughout November, The Young and the Restless continues its 30+ year-long reign as the most-watched Soap Opera in the United States, matching its October numbers. However, these figures are much lower than the soap’s peak in the 90s. During the 1993-94 television season, The Young and the Restless averaged an 8.4 rating, its highest rating yet.
Trailing slightly behind is fellow CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful at 2.54 million viewers. This rating is an approximate 12 percent drop from its October figures, making it the only daytime drama in the United States to drop in ratings in November. The longest-running Soap Opera in the United States, ABC’s General Hospital, achieved 1.83 million viewers in November, remaining steadily in third place and matching its October averages. Meanwhile, freshman soap Beyond the Gates reached 1.56 million viewers over the month, in line with its usual figures. Despite having two strong lead-ins, Beyond the Gates has remained the lowest-rated Soap Opera in the United States since its February debut.
