User:MNET K-pop Official/sandbox

= Universe - 979 = Universe - 979 was a South Korean reality competition show created by Mnet. It premiered on May 24, 2022 and was originally broadcast every Tuesday at 8:30 PM KST for the first eleven episodes until its finale. It was aired on the Mnet channel, IQIYI, AbemaTV, tvN Asia or YouTube depending on the viewer's region.

A production by Mnet's parent company CJ E&M and its subsidiary Studio Take One, as well as in collaboration with game developer and publisher NCSoft, the aim of the competition was to debut a new 9-member K-pop girl group consisting of trainees and idols from China, Japan, and South Korea. Auditions for the competition were held from January to February 2021.

Out of 291 applicants from three survival show: My Teenage Girls, Girls Planet 999, Youth with You 2, 99 final contestants were selected.

In the finale, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final 9 members who would debut.

= Concept and format = The "universe" theme of the show was derived from a new collaboration between Mnet and NCSoft's new platform called Universal which is centered around K-pop. It allowed votes from other countries outside of the participating three, and also hosted other promotional content for the show.

Contestants who are selected or voted to be the Universal Top 12 (designated U1 to U12) can lower the chances of elimination. At the end of the competition, the top 9 most-voted contestants debuted regardless of nationality.

= Promotion and broadcast = The show, as well as its auditions, was first announced on May 24, 2022 through Mnet. Taeyeon was announced as the show's presenter on June 8, followed by the reveal of the mentors and the name of the show's opening theme later that same month. More promotional clips from the show were broadcast that month on Mnet.

The show's premiere date of May 24, 2022 was confirmed through a teaser video released on May 24, 2022. Another teaser video showcasing the faces of the 99 contestants was released on May 24, along with a promotional poster.

The theme song, “Chance”, was released on May 24, 2022, accompanied by a performance by all contestants was released during M Countdown, preceded by the contestants' profiles which were released May 24, 2022. More teasers were released in May and June 2022 leading up to the show's premiere.

The show was available through Mnet in South Korea, iQIYI internationally, AbemaTV and Mnet Japan in Japan, tvN Asia in Southeast Asia, and YouTube in the rest of the world through Mnet's YouTube channel, Mnet K-POP.

= Cast = The series was presented by Taeyeon, dubbed as the "Universal Master". The rest of the mentors, dubbed as "Master", were:


 * K-Pop Masters:
 * Lee Sun-mi
 * Tiffany Young
 * KUN
 * Dance Masters:
 * Baek Koo-young
 * Jang Juhee
 * Lalisa Manoban
 * Vocal Masters:
 * Lim Han-byul
 * Jo A-young
 * Rap Master:
 * Woo Won-jae
 * Jeon So-yeon

Category:South Korean reality television series Category:K-pop television series Category:2022 South Korean television series debuts