Netflix’s BTS comeback show draws 18.4 million viewers globally
The boy band is gearing up for a world tour after a nearly four-year hiatus as its members fulfilled mandatory military service
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[SEOUL] Netflix’s BTS comeback show drew 18.4 million viewers globally, underscoring the demand for real-time events anchored by top-tier talent.
The 60-minute programme, BTS The Comeback Live|ARIRANG, staged at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Saturday (Mar 21) evening, was the K-pop group’s first full performance since late 2022. The live broadcast was the No 1 show in 24 countries, Netflix said on Tuesday.
The boy band is gearing up for a world tour after a nearly four-year hiatus as its members fulfilled mandatory military service. The heavily promoted concert drew a smaller live crowd than initially expected, possibly due to stringent crowd control measures.
Netflix’s evolving strategy aims to use live programming to differentiate itself in a competitive streaming market. The company has been investing in infrastructure and production capabilities to support such events in Asia.
The effort has delivered increasingly large audiences for Netflix. Its live stream of Alex Honnold’s climb of the Taipei 101 skyscraper drew about 6.2 million viewers in January, while its exclusive streaming of the World Baseball Classic earlier this month targeted a broader audience in Japan.
In 2024, the live stream of the NFL Ravens-Texans game peaked at more than 27 million US viewers, according to ratings from Nielsen, with Beyonce performing at the half-time show. The platform’s biggest success to date remains the 2024 boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which Netflix said reached about 65 million viewers globally.
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For BTS, the live stream is the centrepiece of a broader comeback rollout that includes a new album, Arirang, a Netflix documentary and a stadium tour projected to generate US$1 billion to US$2 billion in sales, depending on fan spending on merchandise and paid live-concert streaming on the Weverse platform run by Hybe, the band’s agency. BLOOMBERG
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