SBS drama 'The Last Empress' tops weekly TV chart

All News 11:06 January 03, 2019

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- SBS's drama series "The Last Empress," starring actress Jang Na-ra, topped the weekly TV program chart, closely followed by the tvN drama "Memories of the Alhambra," data showed Thursday.

The SBS program, aired every Wednesday and Thursday, began its 48-episode series on Nov. 21 with a modest viewership rating in the seven percent range but has since steadily gained popularity to surpass 16 percent in viewership.

For the week of Dec. 24-30, the program earned a Content Power Index (CPI) score of 265.3, narrowly defeating the runner-up, "Memories of the Alhambra," which had 259.3.

The leading drama is set in an imaginary contemporary Korean empire. Jang plays the role of Oh Sunny, a former musical singer who became empress by marriage and fell in love with an imperial family bodyguard. The latter is seeking to take his revenge on the ruling family for the unfair death of his mother.

These images provided by SBS show scenes from the drama series "The Last Empress." (Yonhap)

"Memories of the Alhambra," which combines elements of fantasy, suspense, science fiction and romance, aired the first of its 16 episodes on Dec. 1 and stars Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye.

CPI, created by CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the level of popularity, social media presence and influence on consumer behavior of entertainment TV programs aired on the three major terrestrial networks -- MBC, SBS and KBS -- and the seven cable channels owned by CJ ENM, including tvN, Mnet and OCN, during prime time.

JTBC, another cable network that airs some highly popular entertainment shows and dramas, is not included in the measurement.