PROJECT 1 · TELEVISION RATINGS AND SUCCESS
What Makes a Show Successful?
A Programme Analysis of Blossoms Shanghai (China)
and Squid Game (Korea / Netflix)
TEAM CHINA 4 presenters · 8–10 min + 2 min Q&A · [DATE TBC]
THE QUESTION
Success has three meanings — but ratings pay the bills
SOURCE Course slides: 5. Audience Rating, pp. 2, 5, 6, 10 (adapted from Péter Kolosi).
THE CASE
Blossoms Shanghai: a drama that became a city event
SOURCE China Audio-Visual Big Data (CVB); Tencent Video; Dengta; Magnolia Awards; The Paper / CNR, 2024.
WHY IT WORKED
Five drivers behind one hit
SOURCE Project brief, slide 2 (genre, format, target audience, scheduling, promotion); The Paper / Fujian Daily / CNR, 2024.
READING THE NUMBERS
Three claims: rating, share, reach
SOURCE Course slides: 5. Audience Rating, pp. 4–6, 8–9; CVB and Dengta data, 2024.
THE MONEY
Advertisers buy access to audiences
SOURCE The Paper / Times Finance, Jan 2024 (ad count); course slide 9; QuestMobile comparison, 2023.
THE COMPARISON
Same success, two different rulers
SOURCE Netflix newsroom (1.65 bn hours, 2022); LA Times / IMDb ($900 m est.); CVB, Tencent Video, Magnolia Awards, 2024.
EVIDENCE ON SCREEN
The impact a rating cannot count
SOURCE CGTN English video report, 2024 (self-hosted 45s clip); course slide 10.
CRITICAL REFLECTION
Can a show succeed with low ratings?
SOURCE Course slides: 5. Audience Rating, pp. 3, 6, 10, 11; discussion questions p. 11.
THE END
What we learned — and your questions
SOURCES CVB · Tencent Video · Dengta · Magnolia Awards · The Paper / CNR · Netflix newsroom · LA Times · course slides 5.