'Produce 101' PD reveals thoughts on uneven screen time + why only 20 trainees remained on final round

One of the questions asked about the controversy on uneven screen time for the trainees. Many netizens complained that certain trainees received more screen time than others while some barely made appearances.�

Regarding the issue, Ahn PD commented, "The issue of screen time was more stressed this year. This program was actually scheduled for 70 minutes...�But season 1 was 100 minutes and it was about 140 minutes this time. That's because I wanted more contestants to be introduced. I wanted more of them to be shown on the broadcast. I wanted to have the most screen time (for all) and as a result, I think many are also remembering the eliminated trainees and not just the top 20 who made it to the live broadcast. I worked hard to make trainees memorable."

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Ahn PD was also asked why there were only 20 trainees left for the final round instead of 22.�

He answered, "Last year it was 22. At the time, the 22 trainees performed one song. That point was a bit unfortunate. It felt like the focus was dropped because they were all performing one stage. I believed it'll be better to have two tracks for season 2 so there were two teams with 10 trainees each. The reason why I didn't make it 11 (in one group) is because I didn't want it to seem like they were competing; as if the winning group is the 11 to make the debut or have benefits."