Chinese audiences also reacted to Gary’s departure with interest as the show has been widely popular in the country, along with a local remake titled “Hurry Up Brothers.” (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – “Running Man,” a hit variety show featuring celebrities on missions, rose to sixth place on a TV popularity chart after one of its cast members announced his departure from the program, data showed Tuesday.
The SBS show climbed three places on the Content Power Index (CPI) chart during the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6 following the broadcast of its “Goodbye Gary” special on Nov. 6.
The rapper, who has been with the program since its launch seven years ago, earlier said he will be leaving the show to focus on his music.
The Nov 6 episode showed Gary and the other cast members, including actress Song Ji-hyo and actor Lee Kwang-soo, sharing an emotional moment as they bade farewell to each other.
Chinese audiences also reacted to Gary’s departure with interest as the show has been widely popular in the country, along with a local remake titled “Hurry Up Brothers.”
“Running Man” scored 227.6 points on the CPI, which measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related news stories, keyword searches and mentions on social media. The index was developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and media ratings company Nielsen Korea.
In first place was the SBS drama “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,” starring singer-actress IU and actor Lee Joon-gi. The period romance scored 279.5 points following the broadcast of its final episodes.
Newcomer “Entourage,” a remake of the popular HBO series of the same name, entered the chart in second place with 251.9 points.
The MBC reality show “I Live Alone” jumped eight places to rank 10th after model Lee So-ra disclosed her workout routines and life as a 47-year-old single woman.
Other programs in the top 10 included the MBC variety show “Infinite Challenge” (3rd), the SBS rom-com “Jealousy Incarnate” (4th) and the MBC rom-com “Shopaholic Louis” (5th).
(Yonhap)
