Since its launch in November 2011, the Joint Organization Channel has been growing at a rapid pace to keep up with the three main public networks.
The channel currently hosts four sub-channels (Channel A, TV Chosun, jTBC, MBN) each armed with its list of drama series and two new music programs.
Keeping in line with the trend of audition programs, jTBC has announced that they’ll be launching their very own audition program titled ‘Made In U‘.
Hosted by actor Song Joong Ki, the winner is chosen entirely by the viewers themselves. The program also boasts the most amount of prize money to be rewarded in Korean audition history – a cool 1,200,000,000 Won (approximately a little over $1 million USD).
To set itself off from its competition, ‘Made In U’ has set some guidelines unique to its program. The first is its format.
While most audition programs require contestants to go through rigorous processes of online preliminaries and several stages of evaluation by a panel of judges, ‘Made In U’ will rely entirely on the viewers themselves, thus creating a star that is “truly loved by the entire public.”
Contestants were given their own personal homepages on the official website to upload videos and pictures that aptly showed their charms and talents. Netizens are able to give their own insight and give points by becoming a fan, thus raising their online popularity meter.
100 finalists were chosen through such a process, and the real survival will finally begin on TV.
The $1.2 million USD prize money also plays an actual role in viewer participation. Viewers that are registered as a fan of the winning artist will be given a share of the final prize money.
Finally, as ‘Made In U’ aims to become an audition program that trains future Hallyu stars, the program is only open to contestants born after 1986.
All of this will come together in its first broadcast on January 7th.