After 'Produce 101' success, Mnet to launch boy band survival show

A cable TV network said Monday it will start a boy band equivalent of the survival reality TV series "Produce 101" that has developed quite a cult following over just two and a half months.

Forty-nine contestants overcame 220-to-1 odds of becoming part of the upcoming show "Boys 24," Mnet, the network owned by entertainment company CJ E&M, said.

In each episode, they will compete in units, unlike other audition programs where contestants have been judged solely on individual merit.

"'Boys 24' stands out because it evaluates team work instead of choosing only the top one," Oh Kwang-seok, chief producer of the show, said.

Twenty-four finalists will become members of a temporary boy band also named "Boys 24" and will get to perform every day for 365 days, Mnet said.

That will not be the end of it, however, as only a select few from the 24 will get to debut as part of a permanent boy band.

The winners will also take home prize money of 200 million won for vocal training and album production.

In the long run, CJ E&M eyes to expand the show to China, Japan and Southeast Asia, Ahn Suk-joon, head of CJ E&M's music division, said.

Although "Produce 101" was only a minor success in terms of viewership -- it only captured 4.4 percent of the nation's TV-watching population -- it created a buzz among tech-savvy millennials that producers are confident "Boys 24" will do as well.

"Produce 101," which culminated in the formation of the 11-member girl group I.O.I, became the most hyped show within four weeks of premiering, collecting a CPI score of 257.4 points.

CPI, short for Content Power Index, was developed by CJ E&M and media ratings company Nielsen Korea to "better estimate a show's popularity" than the traditional viewing rates, which only calculate the percentage of TV watchers that tuned into a show. The index takes into account the number of related searches, article views and mentions on social media, CJ E&M said.

"Boys 24" will premiere at 11:30 p.m. on Mnet on June 18. (Yonhap)