"It’s Seriously Spine-Chilling"...How Big Is the Craze for the Shaman Reality Show?

According to Financial News, global online video service (OTT) Disney+ is seeing a clear rise in users on the back of the success of its shaman-centered survival variety program Battle of Fates 49.
The show’s bold concept has sparked multiple controversies, but in the end it boosted the monthly active users (MAU) of the Disney+ app by about 20% in just one month.

On the 6th, data from real-time app and payment analytics solution WiseApp Retail Goods showed that Disney+ recorded 2.95 million MAU as of February.
That is an increase of roughly 20% compared with January’s 2.45 million users, before Battle of Fates 49 began streaming.
During the same period, 660,000 people newly installed the Disney+ app. This was the highest figure among major competitors, surpassing Coupang Play (530,000), Netflix (510,000) and TVING (500,000).
Battle of Fates 49 is a survival show in which 49 shamans take on various missions to put their own destinies to the test. By using divination as the tool for competition—an unprecedented format—the program has drawn attention since its premiere on the 11th of last month.
Its popularity is also evident in global indicators. According to OTT ranking site FlixPatrol, the show has held the No. 1 spot on Disney+ popularity charts not only in Korea but also in key Asian markets such as Taiwan and Singapore since last month.
However, Netflix remained the leader in domestic OTT app users in February with 14.9 million people. It was followed by Coupang Play with 8.79 million and TVING with 5.52 million, maintaining a solid top tier. Disney+, in fourth place with 2.95 million users, has been climbing rapidly but still trails TVING, the service just above it, by more than 2.5 million users.


hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter