BTS comeback concert draws 18.4 million viewers on Netflix, was attended by 100K live

BTS The Comeback Live Arirang concert in Seoul was the first time the K-pop group reunited after a years-long hiatus.

Updated on: Mar 25, 2026, 11:18:41 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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The comeback concert by K-pop megastars BTS shattered viewership records on streaming platform Netflix. The concert, streamed live on Netflix, was viewed by an estimated 18.4 million viewers worldwide, the streaming giant said on Wednesday.

Kpop group BTS perform during 'BTS The Comeback Live Arirang' concert in central Seoul, South Korea, March 21, 2026. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP) (AP)

BTS comebck concert draws 18 million viewers

This is one of the highest viewership figures for a live streaming event in history and highlights the enormous influence of the K-pop group, which has only intensified during their time apart.

Netflix said that the live broadcast of BTS: The Comeback from Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square reached the weekly Top 10 in 80 countries and secured the number one spot in 24. The streaming platform added that its estimates were derived from so-called first-party data.

The BTS comeback concert and Arirang

BTS, one of the biggest and most popular musical groups in the world today, recently took to the stage together for the first time following a years-long hiatus prompted by mandatory military service. The concert was attended by more than 100,000 fans to central Seoul, according to the group's label HYBE.

Fans waved a sea of glowsticks and sang along to the group's hits, holding their phones aloft to film the performance as giant screens set up across the venue allowed the crowd to watch. Around 15,000 police officers and security personnel were mobilised for the concert, with barricades lining the roads and nearby venues shut.

The concert coincided not only with their comeback but also with the release of their fifth studio album, Arirang. The album, released on Friday, is billed as reflecting the maturing boy band's Korean identity. It sold nearly four million copies on its first day, according to the label.

The seven-member group is now embarking on their Arirang World Tour, beginning April 9 in Goyang, South Korea. The 2026-27 tour spans 82 concerts across 34 cities in Asia, North America, Europe and Latin America. Tickets for shows in South Korea, North America and Europe sold out within hours.

Formed in 2010, BTS comprises Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Over the years, they have become the most popular musical act in the world, galvanizing the craze of K-pop globally.

(With AFP inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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