TV ads top all key metrics even as broadcast ratings collapse and ad revenue vanishes

A scene from the Netflix original series Donggung. This image is not directly related to the article. [Captured from Netflix Korea]

"The immersion of (Netflix viewers) does not stop at the content — it naturally extends to watching ads as well," said Kim Min-seok, head of Netflix's advertising business team.

Even as South Korea's advertising market undergoes a sweeping shift toward OTT platforms such as Netflix and SNS platforms such as YouTube, TV advertising has ranked first across all three core advertising effectiveness indicators, a new survey shows.

The finding comes amid a string of primetime dramas on the three major terrestrial broadcasters recording 0 percent viewership ratings, a trend that has weighed on TV advertising. Domestic broadcast advertising sales have shed about 600 billion won ($420 million) over the past three years. Against that backdrop, the survey's conclusion — that traditional media still outperforms OTT and SNS in advertising effectiveness — marks a striking reversal.

A scene from the Netflix original series Chamgyoyuk. This image is not directly related to the article. [Captured from Netflix Korea]

According to the "2026 Media Usage Behavior Survey" released Tuesday by the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO), TV advertising ranked first among eight major advertising media in all three core effectiveness indicators: ad recall, ad trust and purchase intent.

The survey was conducted online from June 5 to June 10 among 3,000 adults aged 20 to 64 nationwide, covering eight media categories including TV, YouTube, SNS and OTT platforms.

In ad recall, TV led with 31.7 percent, followed by YouTube at 25.6 percent, while OTT ranked seventh at 14.4 percent. For ad trust, TV again topped the field at 18.5 percent, with YouTube second at 8.2 percent and OTT seventh at 9.1 percent. Purchase intent followed a similar pattern — TV first at 30.8 percent, YouTube second at 30.6 percent and OTT sixth at 14.3 percent.

While TV claimed the top spot in all three categories, OTT platforms consistently ranked near the bottom.

Netflix, however, continues to expand its influence, with its monthly active users hovering around 15 million.

The streaming giant has been building a virtuous cycle — securing large-scale events and pouring resources into aggressive marketing to attract new subscribers and viewers on ad-supported plans, then leveraging that audience growth to raise advertising rates. Last year, Netflix global chief advertising officer Amy Reinhard made her first visit to South Korea, signaling the company's intent to deepen its footprint in the domestic advertising market.

Netflix titles set to release this year. [Provided by Netflix]

Meanwhile, dramas on the three major terrestrial broadcasters have taken a direct hit from 0 percent viewership ratings, dragging down TV advertising along with them. Domestic broadcast advertising sales have shed about 600 billion won over the past three years, with industry insiders estimating that most of those dollars have migrated to YouTube and Netflix.

The "2025 Broadcast and Telecommunications Advertising Expenditure Survey" released last year by the Broadcasting and Communications Advertising Commission showed that broadcast advertising spending fell from 3.39 trillion won in 2023 to an estimated 2.77 trillion won last year. The figures underscore why concern over the health of South Korea's domestic media ecosystem is growing.

An industry official said Netflix's large-scale marketing campaigns — including those tied to BTS concerts — illustrate how the financial firepower and spending scale of global big-tech companies can reshape the advertising market as a whole.

"In this process, the competitive environment within the market and the diversity of the media ecosystem may become constrained," the official added. "The domestic media and content industry is also facing mounting pressure in terms of securing investment capacity and growth momentum."

ko@heraldcorp.com