For the very first time, KCON will be broadcast live on primetime national television in the United States! On July 11 local time, CJ ENM announced that part of KCON LA 2024—which is coming up later this month—would air live on The CW Network.
KCON LA 2024, a major convention and music festival that celebrates Korean pop culture and entertainment, will be held over three days from July 26 to 28 at the Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The upcoming festival’s “M Countdown” concert on Sunday, July 28 will air live on The CW starting at 8 p.m. ET. (The program will be delayed on the West Coast, where it will air at 8 p.m. PT.)
The lineup for KCON LA 2024’s July 28 “M Countdown” concert will include NCT 127, Jeon Somi, Block B’s Zico, STAYC, ZEROBASEONE, and izna, the new girl group that was formed on Mnet’s recent survival show “I-LAND 2.” Are you excited to see part of KCON LA 2024 air on U.S. primetime television?
The CW Network is teaming up with producer CJ ENM to broadcast KCON LA 2024’s main stage concert live on July 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, marking the first time a K-pop performance show will be given the primetime television treatment in the United States.
The 2024 festival, which runs from July 26-28 at the L.A. Convention Center, Gilbert Lindsay Plaza and Crypto.com Arena, holds a variety of fan activities and live performances before culminating with three nights of concerts that are presented under the M COUNTDOWN name, a popular weekly live performance program in South Korea run by CJ ENM’s music channel Mnet. This year’s event features Samsung Galaxy as the title sponsor.
“We are beyond excited to partner with The CW to bring the electrifying M COUNTDOWN at KCON LA 2024 live to national primetime television,” CJ ENM head of music entertainment Harry H.K. Shin said in a Thursday statement. “This historic broadcast is a testament to the incredible community of K-pop fans who have made these groups global sensations.”
The 2024 flagship event in Los Angeles will be hosted by Rowoon, Jeon Somi and Kim Soo-hyun. Additional KCON performers include AleXa, A.C.E., Apoki, Bibi, BoyNextDoor, Craxy, Drippin, DXMON, ENHYPEN, god, HYOLYN, I-Land2:N/a, INI, Isaac Hong, Jo Yuri, Kepler, Katseye, ME:I, NCT127, NMIXX, P1Harmony, Park Min Young, POW, STAYC, Taemin, TWS, TigerJK, ZeroBaseOne and Zico.
KCON, which initially launched as a single-day event in Irvine back in 2012, has expanded to New York, Tokyo, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi and more, welcoming over 1.8 million fans in the time since. The 2024 series has already visited Hong Kong this year and will take place for the first time in Germany from Sept. 28-29.
K-pop stars including Zerobaseone, NCT 127, Stayc, Jeon Somi, Zico and I-Land 2 are among the acts set to perform at the KCON L.A. 2024 mainstage, which will be broadcast live for the first time on The CW later this month. The KCON LA 2024 live telecast will air on Sunday, July 28 at 8 p.m. ET.
According to producer CJ ENM, this reps the first time a K-pop performance special has been broadcast live in primetime on national television in the United States, which the producer touted as “a testament to the genre’s explosive global growth and the unwavering dedication of its fans.” The airing is part of a license deal between CJ ENM and The CW.
KCON, a festival devoted to all things K-Pop and its fans, takes place from July 26 to July 28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena. The three-day event features fan activities, live performance and nightly concerts promoted under the banner “M Countdown,” which is a popular weekly South Korean live music show run on CJ ENM’s music channel Mnet.
KCON LA first launched in 2012. KCON has also held events in Hong Kong, Japan and soon in Germany (in September).
“We are beyond excited to partner with The CW to bring the electrifying ‘M Countdown’ at KCON LA 2024 live to national primetime television,” said CJ ENM head of music entertainment Harry H.K. Shin, in a statement. “This historic broadcast is a testament to the incredible community of K-pop fans who have made these groups global sensations.”
KCON is once again coming to Los Angeles, but fans won’t necessarily have to be anywhere near the City of Angels to experience performances from ZICO, NCT 127 and more K-pop stars.
On Thursday (July 11), the music festival announced that its main stage showcases will air live on The CW Network July 28, starting at 8 p.m. In addition to the “Any Song” singer and “Kick It” boy band, I-LAND 2, STAYC and ZEROBASEONE are also slated to take to the M Countdown performance area that day.
“This historic event marks the first time a K-pop performance show will be broadcast live in primetime on national television in the United States, a testament to the genre’s explosive global growth and the unwavering dedication of its fans,” reads a release.
Though only its final day will be broadcasted, the three-day event will kick off July 26 at the LA Convention Center, Gilbert Lindsay Plaza and Crypto.com Arena. The lineup also features BIBI, BOYNEXTDOOR, INI, ENHYPEN, god and JO YURI in addition to several other K-pop artists spread out across four different stages.
JEON SOMI and K-drama actors Rowoon and Kim Soo Hyun will also be on hand to host live tapings of M Countdown, the weekly live performance program on the K-pop music channel Mnet, at the festival.
The latest iteration of KCON comes over a decade after the event launched in L.A. in 2012. Since then, it’s expanded to New York, Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi — as well as Germany, come September — allowing fans across the world to interact with South Korean music, food and culture.
Both one-day passes and full-festival tickets are available for purchase on KCON’s website.
Source: CJ ENM, The CW Network
