
It was an uneventful week in c-dramaland with most of the shows preempted and web rankings barely moving from last week in light of Lunar New Year festivities (oops, just learned that it’s because the source wasn’t updated at all).
Negotiator accumulates 4 billion views online as of today and emerges as the ratings leader among the primetime shows on television. Peace Hotel is a very close second with ratings also past 1.0%. I was expecting much more from Memories of Love which had the combined star power of Wallace Chung and Aaron Yan but the show seems stuck within the middle range while K9 Coming continues to lag.

As for the 10pm shows, Nirvana in Fire 2 aired its last episode with only minor improvement in viewership though a nice consolation is that word of mouth has been consistently positive. I took a quick peek at douban (which is like the Chinese IMDB), and it rakes in a very respectable 8.5/10.
TV Ratings (CSM52Cities and CSMNationwide are both commonly used. Writeup is based on CSM52.)
CSM52 Cities
CSM Nationwide
*The above are mostly primetime shows that air at 19:30 while those highlighted in blue air at 22:00. **Rankings are overall rankings across the shows airing on the same night, regardless of air time. *** Reruns are not included. **** Dramas that air on CCTV (the state television broadcaster in China) are not included.
Web Rankings (Current week data unavailable due to CNY. 7-day Rankings last updated Feb 12.)
Top Dramas (7-day)
1. Mr. Right
2. Negotiator
3. Peace Hotel
8. Pretty Man
10. KO One Re-call 5
Top Celebrities (7-day)
1. Yang Mi
3. Yang Yang
4. Jin Dong
5. Chen Shu
7. Huang Zitao
10. Hu Ge
*View count is based on the nine streaming sites (Youku, Tudou, iQiyi, QQ Tencent, LeTV, PPTV, Xunlei, Sohu, Mango) ** Star popularity is based on view count, weibo, douban, tieba, search results, etc
Previous <- Ratings and Top Ten -> Next
Source: Xunyee
Anonymous
why are there two different rating charts?
Anne J
There are quite a few ratings charts for tv shows two of the common ones are CSM52 and CSM Nationwide. I recently got a request to add Nationwide so I decided to try including it for the first time. If it ends up more confusing I might remove it again:)
Nadine
Can I just ask where you got the numbers for CSMNationwide from? Because I've been trying to find a reliable source, preferably a Chinese source, but I've been failing to do so.
Anonymous
You might want to recount your vlinkage stats again, those web rankings you have for top stars and dramas are both incorrect. If you're using xunyee as your source, they haven't updated their rankings since the 12th due to spring gala. You can find the rankings posted daily at vlinkage weibo.
Anonymous
The first link shows you that their data is from the 12th, when they mention "Yesterday's List" Their weekly list is also data up to the 12th
https://ibb.co/jK4bfn
Second link shows you the rankings from vlinkage. Data is not provided for the 13th, 14th, or 15th from vlinkage due to spring gala.
https://ibb.co/nwYf6S
Anonymous
The power of Yang Mi? Or is The Negotiator that good?
Anonymous
I think it's the power of YM. The drama is ok only!
Anonymous
It is confusing, but I think because it wasn't clear what they were. Maybe putting CSM52 above the first one and how that one is the gold standard for ratings then CSM Nationwide above the second one. I just saw the small note above both charts but it is not clear which one is which and people could miss it. Just a thought 🙂
Anonymous
I would say YangMi. The drama has a 3.2 /10 on douban and word of mouth is pretty bad.
Anne J
ok, here's my second try. Please take a look and let me know what you think? As you can see, it's really a work in progress, appreciate any help you can give. I don't want it to be confusing haha Thank u..
Anne J
hi nadine, it's on Chinese wikipedia or Baidu, not always but usually..
Anne J
Thanks for letting me know. I use xunyee and couldn't see when it was last updated indicated anywhere so I didn't even realize it was wrong.
Thanks for the screenshot, I actually tried to compile it based on the daily numbers, but my math sucks and I gave up. Have added a note instead. Sorry, too many notes this week and it's extra messy too coz of the holiday.
sunny
Thank you for the ratings.
Nirvana in Fire 2 deserved better viewer ratings. I hope this doesn't discourage production companies from making more similar quality dramas. One of the best dramas to air in a long time and a reminder of just how good Chinese dramas can be. Thank you to the amazing cast and crew for giving us such a great project! I'm glad to hear the Douban reviews are so good at least.
Anonymous
YM and HZT have a lot of fans. It’s an idol drama for their fans.
Drama sucks though.
Anonymous
Tao hadn't had one successful drama before this to credit to him… He isn't the most popular like Kris or YY either…
Having a fanbase doesn't even equal high rating drama either.
He is very lucky to be YM's lead in his 1st TV drama. She isn't the best actress but she does bring luck to many of her male costars.
Anonymous
The drama is cliche but entertaining and Huang Zitao deserves credit, Yang Mi is likeable and engaging as Tong Wei but actually a credit to Huang Zitao
It's a breakout role for him, he has been receiving a lot of praise and trending for his acting as Xie Xiaofei, and topping popularity charts on weibo and gained almost 2 million followers since the drama started
Huang Zitao's comedic timing and handsomeness shines, ratings often peak during his scenes Zitao's and Yang Mi's "Pet CP" is liked overall.
As per Datawin Negotiator is #1 topic and Huang Zitao contributes 72% vs Yang Mi 28%
https://onehallyu.com/topic/646712-weibonegotiator-is-a-success-taos-xie-xiaofei-character-is-addictive-the-xie-xiaofei-mania/?p=26035951
The drama may not have the most original plot,but it's very entertaining, it's addictive,the production is great no expense was spared. Which is why I think it's successful.
Anonymous
I actually heard the word of mout for Negotiator is very good which is why it's performing well despite the low douban score. It's the type of drama that anyone can enjoy, families and friends watch together
Anonymous
looks good to me now 🙂
but some people might not know what you mean by writeup
Anne J
lol thanks maybe i'll put CM52 in the paragraph instead.. we'll see next week.
Unknown
Both Zitao and Yangmi r the main reason of drama's successful. Seeing some of replies here trying to say Tao had no successful drama before is ridiculous tho. His web drama CO is also successful last year..keep quiet if you know nothing about Tao?. TAO'S acting is natural and his character is so fresh and enjoyable tho..he is talented actor. Negotiator is fresh with great acting tbh.
Anonymous
Anyone have an opinion on Flipped in my youth?