Democratic Party TV's First Broadcast, News Factory Concurrent Viewership Analysis

The first broadcast of Democratic Party TV 'Minty' lasted approximately 43 minutes, about four times shorter than News Factory, which runs for over two and a half hours (175 minutes). Park Dae-yong mentioned the contrasting broadcast lengths of Democratic Party TV and News Factory, suggesting a standard for comparing viewer reactions between the two channels despite the shorter duration.

Suspicions of inflated viewership for News Factory have been raised. Some instances mentioned the use of a '7 votes per person' viewing method, involving seven mobile phones, which likely contributed to the increase in concurrent viewers. Park Dae-yong stated that he attempted several checks to confirm these suspicions but has not yet found definitive evidence. In contrast, Democratic Party TV showed a significantly higher chat volume than News Factory.

The reliability of real-time concurrent viewers (concurrents) is questioned, as numbers can be inflated using multiple mobile phones. Park Dae-yong pointed out, "Concurrent viewer numbers can be boosted by using multiple phones, right?", indicating that relying solely on concurrent viewer numbers does not accurately reflect the audience size. In contrast, comments are considered more reliable data than concurrent viewers because duplicate entries per account are restricted, so comparative analysis was conducted using viewer chat.

A comparison of chat data during the first 43 minutes of Democratic Party TV and News Factory showed that Democratic Party TV had an overwhelming chat volume. Democratic Party TV recorded 42,000 chats, while News Factory had only 29,000, a difference of about 13,000. The chat speed per minute was also significantly faster for Democratic Party TV (980 chats) compared to News Factory (680 chats), indicating high viewer engagement for Democratic Party TV.

A total of 11,282 unique accounts participated in the chat during Democratic Party TV's first broadcast. This means over 10,000 people directly posted chat messages. Despite many viewers posting multiple messages each, the participation of over 10,000 unique accounts demonstrates high interest in Democratic Party TV and the presence of active supporters.

According to Playboard's count, News Factory's peak concurrent viewers reached 218,296. In contrast, Democratic Party TV, due to reasons such as a channel name change from 'Deli Minju,' has not yet been officially tallied by Playboard, with an estimated 55,000 viewers. This number, contrasting with News Factory's recent trend of not exceeding 200,000, may indicate differences in viewer counting methods or a phenomenon of specific viewer segments gathering.

Evidence of multiple devices being used to watch News Factory has been confirmed. In one viewer's living room, News Factory was playing simultaneously on 7 screens, including 1 TV, 2 tablets, and 4 mobile phones. While this behavior cannot be definitively labeled as viewership manipulation, it is analyzed as an intent to maximize concurrent viewer numbers. This pattern can be interpreted as similar to the trauma and rallying phenomenon among Jeong Cheong-rae's supporters after Kim Min-seok's election.

It was emphasized that concurrent viewer numbers are merely 'machine figures' and do not necessarily correspond to the actual number of people. Park Dae-yong explained that the number of concurrent devices refers to the number of devices simultaneously playing at a specific moment, and since it's observed that one person often uses multiple devices for multi-access, this should not be taken as the number of people. This interpretation is a crucial criterion for evaluating the reliability of concurrent viewer numbers.

On the launch day of Democratic Party TV, News Factory's real-time chat volume reportedly surged more than three times its usual amount. While News Factory's chat volume on the morning of August 31 was 9,600 messages, it dramatically increased to 29,000 messages during the same time frame this morning (from 6:50 AM to 7:40 AM), overlapping with Democratic Party TV's broadcast. This suggests that Democratic Party TV's broadcast may have spurred competitive participation from News Factory viewers. The combined chat volume of the two broadcasts was approximately seven times the previous day's News Factory-only figure.

A surprising 260 accounts were found to have commented on both Democratic Party TV and News Factory broadcasts. This indicates the presence of viewers who are not just curious onlookers but actively engage and express opinions on both channels. The existence of these dual-active accounts suggests high interest in specific political issues or figures, and that the support bases of each channel may overlap or foster a sense of competition.

The frequency of words like 'protect,' 'defend,' and 'safeguard' in News Factory's chat window was analyzed to be more than 10 times higher than in Democratic Party TV. While Democratic Party TV showed about 8 related posts per 10,000 chats, News Factory had approximately 99, almost 100, such posts per 10,000 chats. This indicates that News Factory viewers have a strong sense of solidarity, intending to protect and support Kim Eo-jun's channel.

Democratic Party TV could not operate Super Chat as political funding laws prohibit collecting donations outside of designated fundraising channels. Despite over 50,000 viewers connecting to its first broadcast, no revenue was generated through Super Chat. This highlights the legal restrictions on operating party channels.

In News Factory's chat window, the phrase 'Don't be scared' appeared 57 times, clearly showing a rallying phenomenon among viewers for Kim Eo-jun. This is analyzed as viewers sending messages of support, concerned that Kim Eo-jun might feel intimidated. Additionally, 35 messages directly mentioning Democratic Party TV were recorded, indicating awareness of the rival channel and a sense of rivalry. These chat contents reflect the strong solidarity and supportive tendencies of News Factory's viewership.

Analyzing the number of people who left chat messages or participated, Democratic Party TV showed higher cohesion than News Factory. News Factory had a relatively lower proportion of viewers who could write comments, raising the possibility that concurrent viewer numbers were inflated through multi-device access. Park Dae-yong stated, "Certainly, there were more people on Democratic Party TV's side. News Factory's numbers might have been inflated," suggesting that Democratic Party TV viewers participated more actively.

Thanks to Democratic Party TV's launch day, Kim Eo-jun's News Factory saw a surge in Super Chat revenue, reaching 50 million won. This is an enormous amount, 25 to 50 times News Factory's daily average Super Chat revenue of approximately 1 to 2 million won. Park Dae-yong commented, "Today, Kim Eo-jun's News Factory (Gyeomgong) team, thanks to Democratic Party TV's opening boost, saw increased Super Chat revenue, 50 million won is huge, 50 million won in a day," emphasizing that the emergence of Democratic Party TV positively impacted News Factory's revenue.

The next report will feature a follow-up on Lee Jong-won's allegations that support for candidate Choo Mi-ae during the 2021 Democratic Party presidential primary was a highly sophisticated political maneuver. Park Dae-yong stated that additional investigative details, especially focusing on the involvement of Representative Jeong Cheong-rae and Kim Eo-jun, will be revealed.