Amid the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the three terrestrial broadcasters are canceling major dramas and variety shows.
Starting from 6:30 pm KST on November 28th, Group G Cameroon vs. Serbia match, Group H Korea vs. Ghana match will be broadcast at 9 pm KST. Also, at 12:10 pm KST, the Group G match between Brazil and Switzerland will be broadcast.
Because of this, major dramas and entertainment programs
have been canceled. KBS canceled broadcasts of variety shows such as “Love Recall”, “Dogs Are Incredible”,and the drama “Curtain Call”. SBS decided to cancel the drama “Cheer Up” and the variety show “Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 – You Are My Destiny” for two weeks in a row. MBC will also cancel entertainment shows such as “Buddy Into the Wild” “Oh Eun Young’s Report-Marriage Hell,” and the drama “Game of Witches,” following last week.
Some cable and general channels that do not have the rights to broadcast the World Cup have also changed their schedules. tvN’s drama “Behind Every Star” was originally broadcast at 10:30 pm KST, but today (Nov 28th), it has been pushed back to 8:40 pm KST.
As the global interest in the World Cup is high, such a change in airtime is inevitable, but some viewers who are not interested in sports cannot help but be disappointed. All major entertainment programs and dramas are canceled. The schedule is also being filled one after another with reruns called World Cup specials.
In particular, in the case of dramas where the flow is important, this cancellation of broadcast can cause damage. Previously, the popular SBS drama “One Dollar Lawyer” suffered from a decline in ratings due to continuous cancellation. Moreover, the period of national mourning was declared only a few weeks ago, and the effects of this are still lingering.
The Wednesday-Thursday drama “May I Help You?” took a break last week due to the World Cup broadcast. The daily drama “Game of Witches” has been off the air for a week from last Monday to today, hence receiving complaints such as “I think I’ll forget everything”, “Why cancel dramas for a non-Korean match?”. If the flow is cut off like this, it can negatively affect viewers’ immersion in the work and lead to them dropping the drama.
Source: Daum
