tvN surpasses 2015 profit target with 'Three Meals a Day,' 'Reply 1988'

Thanks to popular reality cooking show "Three Meals a Day" and family soap opera "Reply 1988," cable network tvN has achieved twice its profit target for 2015, industry sources said Friday.

Advertising for the fourth season of "Three Meals a Day" and "Reply 1988" were the main drivers, the sources said. In "Three Meals a Day," celebrities are challenged to create meals for themselves at remote villages. "Reply 1988" is a nostalgia-inducing drama set in the 1980s. tvN is owned by CJ E&M, the entertainment arm of CJ Group.

Music channel Mnet, also owned by CJ E&M, ended in positive territory as well, with the fourth season of "Show Me the Money" and major events such as KCON 2015 USA and the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards being the main revenue sources.

Mnet first ended with a positive balance in the first half of 2012. It repeated that last year with "Show Me the Money," two seasons of "Unpretty Rapstar" and "I Can See Your Voice."

"Unpretty Rapstar" is the female equivalent of the rap competition program "Show Me the Money." In "I Can See Your Voice," celebrities guess which contestant can sing without seeing their faces.

CJ E&M is widely expected to give generous bonuses to its employees.

"We keep hearing we'll be getting bonuses," a CJ E&M official said, asking not to be named. "We expect to be paid sometime this month."

But CJ E&M's public relations refused to confirm these rumors.

"The precise figures will be posted in the regulatory filing on Feb. 4. Before that we can't confirm anything," a PR official said. (Yonhap)