'The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition' Asian Premiere is Most-Watched English-Language Reality Series Premiere of 2021

SINGAPORE, March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition" premiered in Asia on Thursday, 18 March, and garnered an estimated 4 million viewers. The lead broadcast aired on AXN and was followed by regional free-to-air TV channels and digital platforms across several key Asian markets, including Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.¹

Filmed in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic, "The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition" is a production marvel.

The show's premiere episode smashed viewership records, beating other top-rated reality competition premieres including "America's Got Talent" Season 20, "MasterChef Singapore" Season 2, "The Voice" Season 20, and "The Masked Singer" Season 5 to emerge as the most-watched 2021 season premiere of all English-language reality series on TV in Asia by broadcast reach.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: "When we came up with the concept for 'The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition,' we knew immediately we had something special on our hands. I am extremely grateful for the support of all our passionate fans across Asia who tuned in, our production partner Refinery Media, our brand sponsors, and broadcast partners, as well as the entire team at ONE Championship for the hard work they put in. 'The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition' is not your grandfather's 'Apprentice,' and I look forward to sharing this journey over the next 12 weeks."

Broadcast Viewership Highlights:

Philippines

• Episode 1 broadcast reach exceeded the timeslot average on AXN in the Philippines by 60%, beating the Season 32 premiere of long-running American reality TV series "The Amazing Race."
  (Timeslot average based on FY2020, Thu 8:50 p.m. slot. Source: Nielsen)
• Episode 1 rating on TV5 outperformed the timeslot average by 57%.
  (Timeslot average based on FY2020, Sat 11 p.m. slot. Source: Nielsen)

Thailand

• The premiere episode on Amarin TV smashed records and emerged as the #1 talent contest program by reach and rating.
  (Among all talent contest programs aired on Amarin TV from Aug 2020-Feb 2021. Source: Nielsen)

Singapore

• The premiere episode on AXN in Singapore lifted the timeslot average TVR by 38%, with the average time spent spanning 34 minutes.
  (Timeslot average based on FY2020 Thu 8:50 p.m. slot. Source: Gfk)

Malaysia

?  "The Apprentice" premiered on AXN as the #1-rated show for the day.
(All day on AXN Malaysia on 18 March 2021. Source: Nielsen)

¹Broadcast viewership information for China and India is not yet included in the data set.

SOURCE ONE Championship