The CW is bringing the 2024 edition of K-pop festival KCON to television, Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM announced Thursday.
The Nexstar-owned broadcast network and CJ ENM are partnering for a live broadcast of the festival’s Sunday night concert, which is set to air at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT July 28. The broadcast will be the first time a K-pop performance show will be shown on national TV in primetime.
KCON — a global K-pop festival featuring performances and panels — has had a consistent presence in Southern California for more than a decade and considers L.A. to be the flagship event of the CJ ENM-produced festival series.
The three-day event, taking place this year at the Crypto.com Arena, L.A. Convention Center and Gilbert Lindsay Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, gives K-pop fans the chance to see a slew of popular groups. Expanding from years past, KCON plans to utilize four stages: The M Countdown (named after the weekly Korean music show from KCON’s parent company) stage is inside Crypto.com Arena, and the others — including a showcase stage to introduce L.A. fans to rookie acts who haven’t promoted heavily in the U.S. — are at the Convention Center and plaza.
For daytime programming, the festival puts on fan activities and live performances, and it ends each day with a concert at Crypto.com Arena.
“We are beyond excited to partner with The CW to bring the electrifying M Countdown at KCON L.A. 2024 live to national primetime television,” CJ ENM’s head of music entertainment Harry H.K. Shin said of the new partnership in a release. “This historic broadcast is a testament to the incredible community of K-pop fans who have made these groups global sensations.”
This year’s festival roster was initially announced in June and includes: A.C.E, APOKI, Bibi, BoyNextDoor, Craxy, Drippin, DXMON, Enhypen, god, Sistar’s Hyolyn, I-Land 2 (Izna), INI, Isaac Hong, Jeon Somi, Jo Yuri, Kep1er, ME:I, NMIXX, P1Harmony, POW, STAYC, SHINee’s Taemin, TWS, ZEROBASEONE and Zico. KCON has since added NCT 127, the newly debuted Hybe-Geffen Records girl group Katseye, Tiger JK and actors Soo Hyun Kim and Min Young Park to the lineup.
The televised concert is scheduled to feature Jeon Somi, NCT 127, STAYC, Zerobaseone, Zico and Izna (the newly created girl group comprised of seven contestants from the recently concluded South Korean music survival show I-Land 2: N/a), according to KCON’s website.
The L.A. festival will take place July 26-28, with tickets available on the festival’s website.
