MBC’s OTT Strategy Hits a Wall as ‘A Shop for Killers’ Loses to ‘Reactivated Agent Kim’

MBC’s ambitious decision to air Disney+ original series A shop for assassins as the Friday-Saturday special failed to reverse its ratings decline. Instead, the drama continued to lose viewers, eventually falling below 1%.

The contrast with the SBS Friday-Saturday drama Agent Kim reactivated it was particularly surprising. While Agent Kim reactivated recently surpassed a national rating of 21.6%, becoming one of the biggest television phenomena of the year, A shop for assassins has struggled to gain traction among television audiences.

The disappointing performance is even more painful when considering MBC’s previous success with the same strategy. Not long ago, the network aired Disney+ hits Moving AND Big bet on television, with both titles recording ratings of up to 5.7% and at the top of their respective time slots. With another proven OTT hit in hand, many are wondering why A shop for assassins it failed to resonate.

One major reason may be MBC’s failure to consider the viewing preferences of the traditional 50- and 60-year-old TV audience that still dominates weekend primetime.

Both Big bet AND Moving they were played by veteran stars Choi Min Sik and Ryu Seung Ryong, actors who enjoy immense trust and recognition among middle-aged viewers. Simply seeing these acclaimed film veterans return to television was enough to attract a loyal audience.

In comparison, A shop for assassins is led by Lee Dong Wook and Kim Hye Jun. While both actors possess strong popularity among younger viewers and generate considerable interest online and on short-lived platforms, their appeal does not necessarily translate into the same drawing power for traditional weekend TV audiences. The discrepancy between the target demographic and the cast may have existed from the beginning.

The accessibility of the genre also played a significant role. Big bet follows the simple rise and fall of a man who pursues wealth and power through organized crime. Its straightforward narration allows viewers to join the series midway through without too much confusion, making it well-suited to weekly television broadcasts.

On the contrary, A shop for assassins revolves around a mysterious shopping mall inherited from an uncle and an intricate conflict involving professional assassins. The drama constantly shifts between past and present through non-linear editing and fragmented narrative. While this narrative style works exceptionally well on streaming platforms, where viewers can watch episodes and rewind when needed, it becomes much more difficult to follow in a weekly television format interrupted by commercial breaks.

Another factor is the timing and freshness of the content. When Moving AND Big bet After the move from Disney+ to television, many viewers unfamiliar with streaming platforms saw the broadcasts as an opportunity to finally watch highly rated series they had only heard about.

However, A shop for assassins relies heavily on mystery, twists and surprise revelations. By the time it reached television, major plot developments and ending spoilers had already circulated widely online. Younger viewers who already knew the story had little reason to tune in to scheduled broadcasts, while older audiences often chose the more accessible and emotionally satisfying narrative offered by SBS broadcasts. Agent Kim reactivated Instead.

As production costs continue to rise and broadcasters look for ways to fill schedules, adapting successful OTT originals for television will likely remain an important strategy.

However, the disappointing performance of A shop for assassins proves that simply rebroadcasting a hit streaming series is not a guaranteed formula for success.

Without carefully matching the platform, narrative style, appeal of the cast and the viewing habits of the television audience, even a globally acclaimed streaming hit can struggle to find its place in traditional broadcast television.

Sources: Naver

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