‘Hotel del Luna’ becomes 2nd 2019 cable drama to surpass 10% in TV ratings

Aug 12, 2019

Currently airing Korean drama Hotel del Luna marked the beginning of the second half of its run with a double-digit viewership, becoming the second 2019 cable drama to surpass 10% in TV ratings.

According to Nielsen Korea, the series’ 10th episode which was broadcast on Sunday night obtained a nationwide TV audience share of 10.0 percent, which is higher than the previous episode’s record (8.3 percent) by 1.7 percentage points. The latest episode broke the record made by the eighth episode on August 4 whose 9.1 percent rating is the drama’s highest in its first four weeks.

With this recent success, Hotel del Luna has become the second 2019 cable drama to exceed the 10 percent mark, next only to The Crowned Clown. The latter hit the headlines last February when it achieved a 10.0 percent rating on its 13th episode. In March, that figure increased to 10.9 percent during the drama’s finale.

As far as prime time Korean dramas are concerned, achieving a 10 percent rating on cable TV can be likened to obtaining a 20 percent on terrestrial TV. Both numbers are an indication of a drama’s immense popularity among the local viewers. To put this into perspective, here is a fact: the average ratings of all prime time cable and terrestrial dramas in 2018 stand at only 4.8 and 5.6 percent, respectively.

Overall, Hotel del Luna is the fourth cable drama to score such a success in 2019. Prior to The Crowned Clown‘s achievement in February, Sky Castle and Memories Of The Alhambra—which are 2018 Korean dramas that ended in 2019—had already hit the headlines in January for also obtaining double-digit audience shares.

Hotel del Luna Poster

Starring IU and Yeo Jin-goo, Hotel del Luna is a fantasy horror romance drama about a woman and an award-winning hotel manager who ends up working in her hotel that caters only to ghosts. Interestingly, Yeo Jin-goo also starred in The Crowned Clown where he played the dual roles of a King and his doppelganger who have change places with each other amid a power struggle in the palace.

As of August 12, The Crowned Clown is holding the title as the highest-rated Korean drama in cable TV this year (in terms of average and peak ratings), followed by Hotel del Luna and Arthdal Chronicles. When all cable dramas are considered, the three shows rank 8th, 10th, and 17th, respectively (see FULL ranking: Highest-Rated Korean dramas (cable) of all time [UPDATED]).

Hotel del Luna is the latest project of the Hong Sisters (A Korean Odyssey). It airs on tvN every Saturday and Sunday at 9 p.m. Korean Standard Time.

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