BTS Break Their Own Record For The Most-Viewed Online Concert Ever With “Map Of The Soul ON:E”
Thought Bang Bang Con‘s viewership numbers were impressive? Just wait until you hear how many tickets BTS sold for their latest online concert, Map of the Soul ON:E.
This past weekend, BTS wowed fans with their latest online concert, Map of the Soul ON:E. While the planned offline portion of the concert had to be cancelled due to increased COVID-19 precautions, the AR and XR virtual show left nothing to be desired. From mind-blowing performances to heartwarming stages that had fans in tears, ON:E had it all.
So, it should come as no surprise that hundreds of thousands of ARMYs tuned in to see the spectacle. But, no one could prepare for the staggering viewership number released by Big Hit Entertainment today. According to the company, BTS’s Map of the Soul ON:E online concert drew in a whopping 993,000 viewers!
Just a few thousand shy of 1 million, ON:E beats out BTS’s previous achievement. Back in July, they were officially awarded the Guinness World Record title for “most viewers for a music concert live stream” with Bang Bang Con.
Bang Bang Con: The Live sold 756,000 tickets, but now, it looks like ON:E holds the new world record. The latest concert also reached more fans from locations than ever before: 191 countries versus Bang Bang Con‘s 107. That’s not bad when you consider that there are only 195 countries in the world!
This also means BTS beat out their own incredible sales figures. Bang Bang Con tickets cost ₩29,000 to ₩39,000 KRW (about $25.40 USD to $34.10 USD) each, which means the concert generated approximately ₩21.9 to ₩29.5 billion KRW (about $19.2 to $25.8 million USD).
Ticket prices for Map of the Soul ON:E, on the other hand, ranged from ₩49,500 to ₩71,500 KRW (about $43.30 to $62.50 USD). This means the concert weekend generated anywhere from ₩49.2 to ₩71.0 billion KRW (about $43.0 to $62.1 million USD) in revenue. Big Hit Entertainment also produced a range of merchandise for the concert, including photocards, slogans, and t-shirts.
In total, BTS’s two online concerts this year sold around 1.75 million tickets—not far off of the Love Yourself World Tour, which sold just over 2 million tickets across 62 dates. Given how successful and profitable online concerts have been for the group, don’t be surprised if they continue long after the pandemic ends.
