Broadcasters line up holiday specials and blockbusters
OTT platforms drop new titles for the long weekend
'Assassin(s)' leads box office on opening day
The familiar chuseok scene of the whole family gathered around the TV for a holiday special is fading. This year, broadcasters, OTT platforms and movie theaters are all vying for viewers over the four-day holiday weekend, each pushing new releases and popular titles in an intensifying battle for audiences.
For the chuseok holiday, broadcasters have lined up a string of special programs spanning films, variety shows, music and documentaries, according to Yonhap. KBS is airing chuseok music specials, while terrestrial and cable channels are broadcasting a range of films including recent theatrical blockbusters.
OTT platforms are also making a push for holiday viewers. Disney+ released the animated film "Toy Story 5" on Wednesday, the day before the holiday began, and Netflix is continuing to roll out new titles. Tving is curating a lineup of family-friendly films from the first day of the holiday, centering on titles such as "Ode to My Father" and "Speed Scandal."
Theaters are seeing their own holiday competition heat up. "Assassin(s)," starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, drew about 134,000 viewers on its opening day Wednesday to claim the No. 1 spot at the box office. The film is set against the 1974 assassination attempt on first lady Yuk Young-soo and follows those who seek to uncover the truth behind the shooting at a Liberation Day ceremony.
"Tazza: The Song of Belzebub," which also opened Wednesday, came in second with about 103,000 admissions. Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" ranked third, while "The Intern," starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, placed fourth. Lee Chang-dong's new film "Possible Love" debuted at sixth.
Where holiday leisure once meant sitting together to watch whatever broadcasters had scheduled, the options have expanded dramatically — TV, OTT, YouTube and movie theaters all now compete for the same audience.
The shift is already well underway. The Korea Communications Commission's 2025 broadcast media usage survey found that the OTT usage rate last year reached 81.8 percent, meaning more than eight in 10 people used an OTT service. The share of people who watch TV five or more days a week still stood at 70.9 percent.
The line between TV and OTT is also blurring. As more viewers watch OTT content through their televisions, analysts say viewing culture is shifting away from a choice between TV and OTT toward simply picking the content they want on whichever platform carries it.
"Where holiday viewing used to revolve around whatever programs broadcasters had scheduled, it has now shifted to families choosing together what they want to watch," a Tving official said.
The image of an entire family watching the same TV program over chuseok may be becoming a relic of the past, but the competition to capture holiday viewers has only grown fiercer. This year, OTT apps and movie theaters have joined the TV remote as options for the holiday viewer.
jookapooka@heraldcorp.com
