ENA’s “Battle for Happiness” is showing a disappointing report card despite the fresh material and actors’ good acting.
According to the ratings research company Nielsen Korea on June 22nd, episode 7 of “Battle for Happiness”, which aired on June 21st, recorded 1.7% based on paid households nationwide. This is a 0.3% point decrease from the 2% in episode 6. “Battle for Happiness”, which started with 0.7%, recently showed an upward trend in ratings and achieved its highest rating of 2%, but fell back to the 1% range.
The reason why the low ratings of “Battle for Happiness” are regrettable is that there was an expectation that it would become the “second SKY Castle” before airing. “Battle for Happiness” is about mothers who are engaged in fierce social media competitions to destroy each other’s happiness for their own. This format is very similar to “SKY Castle”, which ended with a high rating of 23.8% in 2019.
Both dramas have a space that symbolizes “wealth”. In addition, both have actresses with strong acting skills. “Battle for Happiness” has Lee El, Jin Seo Yeon, Cha Ye Ryun, Park Hyo Joo and Woo Jung Won, while “SKY Castle” revolves around Yum Jung Ah, Lee Tae Ran, Yoon Se Ah, Oh Na Ra and Kim Seo Hyung.
In response, ENA’s CEO Yoon Yong Pil said on Media Day before the airing of “Battle for Happiness”, “I’m confident that we’ll be able to provide as much fun and immersion as ‘SKY Castle’.” However, the highest rating of “Battle for Happiness”, which first aired on May 31st, was only 2%. It is a disappointing result compared to itself. In this regard, drama critic Jo Sung Kyung criticized, “It lacks genre characteristics.” In the case of “SKY Castle”, it is a satirical comedy. The material and format of the two dramas may be similar, but the suspense thriller “Battle for Happiness” should emphasize its own individuality, but it did not.
Besides, drama critic Jo Sung Kyung pointed out, “ENA’s lack of recognition level is also a cause of low ratings.” ENA’s “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” recorded the highest rating of 17.5%, but its follow-ups “Good Job” and “Bo-ra! Deborah” ended unfortunately with average ratings of 1~2%. Critic Jo said, “If ‘Battle for Happiness’ had been broadcast on terrestrial channels, it could have had higher ratings than now. As ENA is a new channel, it needs to show a distinct individuality.“
Source: Daum
