“Produce 48” Is Already More Popular Than “Produce 101” Was
Produce 48 has aired three episodes so far, in which the trainees have performed, been placed into ranks, and competed against each other in group battles. As things got more interesting, the show’s rating reached its highest yet!
According to Nielson Korea, Produce 48 has reached the most viewers in the program’s target range of viewers between 20 to 49 years old, compared to the other shows airing at the same time. Episode 3 reached a viewer rating of 1.999% nationwide.
Since the 1.132% viewership for its first episode, Produce 48 has continued to grow in viewership.
In fact, this is higher than the first season of Produce 101‘s third episode, which at the time had a 1.7% rating.
Produce 48 is breaking the internet as well. Both Korean and Japanese search engines saw a tremendous increase in the searches of the show and the show’s trainees.
Initially, when the show premiered, Produce 48 received unprecedented levels of criticism and hate, to the point that Koreans decided to “boycott” the program and petitioned against the show from ever going live.
The production team also had to personally respond to the accusations of the show promoting Lolita concepts and Japanese imperialism as well.
Regardless, Produce 48 is currently at the center of the nation’s attention. Curious viewers can’t help but tune in to find out who will be making it to the next rounds and ultimately become the debuting group to promote globally in both Korea and Japan!