Doctor X hits 18.5% ratings and Netflix global #1 — SBS's fourth non-English chart-topper of 2024

Episode 4 breaks the show's own record

닥터X: 하얀 마피아의 시대 (Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia), starring Kim Ji-won, hit a nationwide viewership rating of 18.5% on its fourth episode, broadcast October 17. Peak viewership climbed to 20.8%. It was the show's highest figure yet.

Episode 1 opened at 11.4%. Episode 2 rose to 14.9%. Episode 3 held at 15.1%. Then came the fourth-episode surge.

Netflix numbers land just as fast

On streaming, Netflix's Tudum logged 4.6 million views for Doctor X in the May 5–11 window, placing it first in the global non-English TV show category. This came just three days after the show's release on May 9.

The series ranked #1 in seven countries—South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia among them—and entered the top 10 in 36 countries worldwide. Four Netflix global non-English #1 titles from one broadcaster in a single year is not nothing.

SBS's fourth global chart-topper in 2024

Doctor X is the fourth SBS drama this year to top Netflix's global non-English TV chart. The others: 오늘도 매진했습니다, 멋진 신세계, and 김부장.

The run traces back to a six-year content supply contract SBS signed with Netflix in December 2024. The broadcaster supplies new dramas, entertainment, and educational programs alongside past popular titles, with select new dramas released simultaneously worldwide.

A broadcasting industry official put it plainly: "The competitiveness of terrestrial dramas can no longer be evaluated by TV viewership ratings alone. It is becoming important not only how many viewers are secured domestically but also how widely the content is consumed overseas."

Terrestrial broadcasters had been losing ground to OTT platforms. Now they're finding new growth opportunities by working with OTT rather than against it.