Sink or Swim? For Three National TV Networks, That Determined by One Single Word

When the election is officially over at 6 p.m. on Election Day, or December 19, three major national TV networks, or KBS, MBC and SBS, will announce the results of their exit polls.

And, as early as 8-9 p.m., each of them will rush in to announce the projected winner, which is to be determined by various projection methods of them. How many viewers a TV station can secure hinges almost on which station makes the earliest announcement of the president-elect. Aware of this, each has mobilized whatever means it could use, including a thorough analysis of opinion polls and exit polls.

Especially, this year, the electronic balloting system is introduced, making it faster to count ballots. Therefore, stations have to compete with each other in a fiercer way. Under the new system, the National Election Commission sends the collected data immediately to each TV station, narrowing the gap between stations in tallying and announcing the ballots.

In order to differentiate itself, each network will make its election broadcasting a "grand show" featuring high tech and entertainment.

KBS will start its broadcasting at 5 p.m., anchored by Hong Ki-sup, Lee Gyu-won, Kim Jun-suk and Hwang Soo-kyung.

On the other hand, MBC`s program will be hosted by Um Gi-young alone from 4 p.m., while SBS will start at 4:30 p.m. with Yoo Ja-hyo, Lee Young-chun, Kim Sung-jun and Chong Ji-young.