BTS comeback concert draws 18.4 million views, tops Netflix chart

SEOUL - The livestream of K-pop sensation BTS' first concert in nearly four years attracted 18.4 million views on Netflix, the streaming service announced Tuesday (US time), Yonhap News Agency reported.

The figure combined real-time audiences and those who watched within 24 hours of the broadcast, according to the service.

Following the broadcast, "BTS the Comeback Live: Arirang" easily topped Netflix's weekly non-English series chart by a massive margin by garnering 13.1 million views for the week ending March 22, the company added. Netflix calculates its views used for the chart by dividing the total viewing time by the running time.

It also topped weekly charts in 24 countries, including South Korea, Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Bulgaria, and debuted in the top 10 in 80 countries overall.

The K-pop septet staged the live performance at Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday night in front of tens of thousands of fans to mark the release of its fifth studio album, "Arirang," the previous day.

The event also sparked a wave of online buzz. According to Netflix, BTS-related content on its official channels recorded 2.62 billion impressions, while hashtags linked to BTS and Netflix trended across multiple countries, such as the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Argentina, Britain and Turkey.

Netflix is scheduled to release a behind-the-scenes documentary film, titled "BTS: The Return," on Friday, chronicling the making of the new album. - BERNAMA