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On the evening of July 23rd, 'Full House' continued airing its third and fourth episodes on Zhedong Satellite TV and Capital City TV.
At the same time, Xiangnan Satellite TV broadcast the fifth and sixth episodes of 'Vast Seas of Love'.
The ratings battle between these two television dramas had already become the biggest hotspot of the domestic summer TV season. Many film and television production companies, as well as industry professionals, were paying close attention to it.
Because whichever drama won the ratings battle was very likely to set off a trend across the industry.
This kind of phenomenon had existed on domestic TV screens for many years. Back then, it was anti-Japanese war dramas, spy thrillers, idol dramas, sitcoms, and so on. One classic series would explode in popularity, followed by endless imitators. Even if they couldn't get a bite of the prime meat, they could still sip some soup.
Most importantly, many investors loved putting money into this type of TV drama: low risk, high returns, and considerable profit margins.
Before 'Full House' premiered, many industry insiders believed Lu Chen had made an unwise move.
His first TV drama, 'Autumn in My Heart', had achieved tremendous success. Instead of capitalizing on that momentum with a second or third installment, he abruptly switched styles. In doing so, he effectively abandoned a large portion of the 'Autumn in My Heart' fanbase and audience, significantly increasing the risk.
Lu Chen's decision appeared immature, perhaps the result of early fame going to his head. With backing from several industry giants, he had even dared to confront the powerful Xiangnan Satellite TV head-on. Just thinking about it made people nervous on his behalf.
And the premiere ratings seemed to confirm that Lu Chen had made a mistake.
However, 'Full House''s staggering 15.21% premiere rating in South Korea truly shocked everyone. It left people lacking the confidence to criticize him, and no one dared to casually point fingers at Lu Chen anymore.
Flowers blooming inside the wall, fragrance drifting beyond, even if 'Full House' were to flop domestically, it would still be something to be proud of.
What's more, 'Full House' wasn't actually weak. Its domestic shine was simply being temporarily overshadowed by its rival.
Only after the tides recede does gold reveal itself. The showdown between 'Full House' and 'Vast Seas of Love' had only just begun. Everyone was watching closely to see who would have the last laugh!
On the morning of July 24th, New Vision's official website updated the domestic TV program ratings rankings on its homepage.
The result was that the site's traffic hit a new record.
Those flooding New Vision's website weren't just media outlets and industry professionals, but also a massive number of ordinary fans. The ratings war ignited on Langchao Blog had already drawn them in.
Xiangnan Satellite TV – 'Vast Seas of Love'
Episode 5 ratings: 1.49%
Episode 6 ratings: 1.45%
Two-episode average: 1.47%
Ranked 1st
'Full House'
Episode 3 combined rating: 1.43%
Episode 4: 1.47%
Average: 1.45%
Ranked 2nd
The industry was instantly thrown into an uproar!
Xiangnan Satellite TV's summer self-produced flagship drama 'Vast Seas of Love' had poured massive resources into promotion. It had seized the initiative early, even airing the first two episodes a week ahead of time under the banner of a "preview broadcast," scoring an opening victory.
Riding on the momentum of that early success and the anticipation it built among viewers, 'Vast Seas of Love' aired continuously over the weekend, clashing head-on with 'Full House', and won the first round decisively and beautifully.
In everyone's eyes, 'Vast Seas of Love''s advantage was bound to continue for some time. The decisive battle between the two sides should have come in the middle stretch. No one expected the situation to undergo such a shocking reversal overnight!
'Vast Seas of Love''s fourth episode hit a peak rating of 1.5%, yet the fifth and sixth episodes unexpectedly showed a downward trend. Although it managed to hold onto first place with an average rating of 1.47%, not to mention industry insiders, even laypeople could clearly see the signs of decline.
TV drama ratings are like rowing upstream: if you don't advance, you fall back. The ratings in the first half are the most critical; only by charging all the way can a high overall average be secured. Once the numbers start to drop, it becomes very difficult to recover.
'Vast Seas of Love' was a thirty-episode series and had only aired four episodes when its ratings had already declined. This result was like a resounding slap across Xiangnan Satellite TV's face, awkward beyond measure.
Compared to 'Vast Seas of Love', 'Full House''s ratings rose noticeably, jumping straight to 1.47%. In fact, its latest single-episode rating had already surpassed its rival's, showing clear signs of a meteoric rise.
Of course, it was still too early to declare that 'Full House' had already defeated 'Vast Seas of Love'. No one could guarantee that 'Full House' wouldn't also experience a ratings drop like its opponent.
But the likelihood was extremely small, because 'Full House''s ratings growth had occurred precisely when 'Vast Seas of Love' was still strong, and vice versa!
On Langchao Blog, the marketing promoters, TV critics, and fans of 'Vast Seas of Love' suddenly fell silent.
Hu Yang, who had been posting seven or eight times a day, went completely quiet.
After all, how could he bring himself to post another blog titled "1.45%"?
That would only make him a laughingstock.
But while Hu Yang and the others tucked their heads away, Lu Chen's fans finally felt vindicated. Even though Lu Chen's studio and the official 'Full House' accounts hadn't said anything yet, the official account of Lu Chen's fan club couldn't wait to post a celebratory blog.
The title was intriguing, "1.47%."
A perfect imitation. A solid slap in the face.
And amid this strange mix of silence and noise, that very night, Sunday, 'Full House' aired its fifth and sixth episodes, while 'Vast Seas of Love' aired its seventh and eighth.
By Monday morning, New Vision's official ratings charts were updated once again.
'Full House'
Episode 5 combined rating: 1.67%
Episode 6: 1.75%
Average: 1.71%
Ranked 1st
'Vast Seas of Love' failed to reverse its decline. The ratings for episodes seven and eight dropped again, to 1.42% and 1.40%, averaging 1.41%, placing it second.
Falling behind once isn't scary. What's scary is falling behind step by step, with no way back.
'Full House' overtook 'Vast Seas of Love' by 0.3% in average ratings, proudly claiming the top spot among all TV dramas airing in the same period. It even surged to third place among all television programs, showing tremendous staying power.
In just three short days, Lu Chen's second TV drama, as screenwriter and lead actor, had faced a powerful opponent and gone from trailing behind, to catching up, to successfully overtaking it, completing an almost unbelievable, spectacular comeback!
And anyone could see that an average rating of 1.61% was far from 'Full House''s ceiling. As the plot deepened and word of mouth continued to ferment, achieving Lu Chen's bold claim of "steady three, break four" was no longer a fantasy.
This outcome completely silenced Xiangnan Satellite TV's promotional campaign for 'Vast Seas of Love'.
Many industry insiders were utterly baffled. They couldn't understand how things had turned out this way. They had expected a long, drawn-out clash between two titans, yet 'Full House' had cleanly and decisively cut down its opponent!
Why did it turn out like this?
(End of Chapter)