YG's newest project "WIN," a survival battle to determine the next flagship boy band to follow Big Bang, is on course to break cable TV viewership records. The first episode, which aired on August 23rd, already broke the record for cable TV viewership at 1.5% and has been receiving increased interest by word of mouth.

"WIN" was created personally by Yang Hyun Suk, the CEO of YG Entertainment. He even held a press conference to promote the program in the style of Steve Jobs. He considers it his personal project as well as a mainstream product.

Perhaps his dedication was the impetus for their breakthrough viewership records on cable TV. Most cable programs consider a 1% viewership record a very successful broadcast, so their 1.5% was really an unprecedented success for a cable program. The rerun program that aired an hour later also recorded an incredible 1.2% viewership.

"WIN" differs from all other audition programs in that the competition is between two YG groups. It's a well-known fact that entering into YG as a trainee is as difficult as winning the lottery. The 11 members who compete are ones who have not only entered YG but have gone through its rigorous training program. In other words, they are the elite of all YG trainees. While other audition programs are competitions between amateurs, "WIN" is a duel between the elite, cream of the crop YG trainees.

The first episode, even though it was simply a preview of the battle to follow, caught the attention of many TV producers and musicians. It demonstrated the producing power of the bigger entertainment companies such as YG to be equal or better than mainstream TV producers.

That is one of the reasons YG sought to broadcast their product on cable TV and not SBS as was originally planned. Cable TV channels Mnet and tvN opened up their Friday night slots at 10PM and 11:20PM respectively, while SBS was unwilling to give up these time slots. YG didn't have to depend on SBS to produce their program, so they chose cable.

YG's new boy band name has already been decided as "WINNER." 11 of YG's top male trainees have been split into Team A and Team B. The drama and hardship of the face-to-face battle and the emergence of unique characters has captured the attention of the audience and is projected to carry the show's popularity to its finale. Those characters include Kang Seung Yoon, whose dance skills have increased drastically since Superstar K2, and B.I, who is both a hard working leader and an amazing performer.

The international reception is equally hot. "WIN" is set to air on September 17 via STAR TV's cable channel, Channel V, and on CJ E&M's cable channel, Channel M. It will also air on Youku, China's largest streaming and video site.