An alarming statement has been released alleging that a PD from one of the terrestrial broadcast stations (KBS, MBC, SBS) threatened to block an artist from appearing on any shows from his broadcasting network if he appeared on popular TV Chosun reality show 'Mr. Trot'.

According to an exclusive report from Sportsworld, on January 22nd, an official from one of the participant's agencies who appeared in Mr. Trot reported that "a terrestrial broadcasting station PD made threatening statements that their artist would not be able to appear in all of the programs from their broadcasting station in the future. It is well known in the industry that the same station PDs form a cartel together."

The reason why this is not surprising is that these types of incidents have been widespread in the past. The act of excluding singers from other companies' audition programs is not uncommon. In fact, artists that participated in Mnet's 'Produce 101', have also been reported to have difficulty appearing in terrestrial music programs.

'Mr. Trot' is the male version of the popular 'Miss Trot' reality show, featuring 101 contestants to find the next "Mr. Trot." The first episode aired on January 2 and reached a Nielsen Korea viewer rating of 12.5%. Episodes 2 and 3 reached over 17% in the viewer ratings.