South Korean broadcast network MBC said on Tuesday it will discontinue its time-honored college music competition, citing its declining viewer ratings.

“College Musicians Festival” started in 1977 and has been deemed the representative program through which amateur musicians often made a high-profile debut thanks to the national broadcast network’s influence.

MBC said the program’s popularity and the viewer ratings were relatively low compared to the high production cost. The network said that idol singers trained by big production companies are taking over the music scene, making it hard for the program’s winner to set foot in the industry.

For the past 36 years, the program has played the role of providing a crucial gateway for talented musicians to become professional singers -- similar to audition programs gaining much popularity in recent years.

The program helped propel musicians such as Bae Cheol-soo, Shim Soo-bong and Sin Hye-cheol to instant stardom.

Jin Eun-soo, Intern reporter
(janna924@heraldcorp.com)