- Broadcast date: Aug. 1
- Starring: iKON, Winner, BTS, Sojin of Girl's Day, Eric Nam

The long-awaited V app finally aired its first broadcast on Saturday, featuring iKON, Winner and BTS.

The app is designed to enable Korean stars to interact with their fans from around the world in real time. Stars will have both pre-scheduled broadcasts with games and special corners, and spontaneous broadcasts whenever and wherever they want to talk to their fans.

Winner and iKON during the show (Naver V App)

On Saturday, iKON and Winner were all back together for the “Winner x iKON WIN-WIN Game.” The two teams, who faced off on the TV program “WIN: Who is Next” for the privilege of debuting first, became rivals once again on their joint V app game -- this time to win money for a vacation.

Although on “WIN” Winner had won the right to make their debut first, iKON emerged victorious from the WIN-WIN Game after rounds like a staring contest and a crunk dance battle. The two teams’ friendship was visible in the way they bantered throughout the show -- playfully pitting “Show Me the Money” contestants Minho and Bobby against each other, or joking about desperately wanting to win the “rehearsal room escape card” that would get them out of practice.

iKON (Naver V App)

Hosted by Winner’s Kang Seung-yoon and iKON’s B.I, the members ran around on a Monopoly-style board to pick up points and to complete missions to fill up the 60-minute show. Without scripts or editing, it was a chance for fans to see the members’ true selves in action. It didn’t end there, though -- both teams aired additional footage after the show to have a more intimate conversation with their fans, showing off their cute side and promising more.

Meanwhile, BTS also aired the first episode of their show “Run! B-T-S!” in which the members performed a theme song for the app (prominently featuring member V) and had individual interviews introducing themselves and their personalities. BTS also aired preview footage from their Brazil concert, and turned on the app briefly after the concert to talk to their fans before heading to Chile.

V of BTS (Naver V App)

Other stars also made appearances on the launch date of the V app. Girl’s Day’s Sojin turned on the app while taking a walk along the Hangang River, and Eric Nam broadcast from the plane before heading to Los Angeles for KCON, sitting next to Red Velvet. They are just two of the stars scheduled for V’s August lineup, which also includes the Wonder Girls, Big Bang, Miss A, KARA, GOT7 and more.

Fans can subscribe to their favorite stars’ channels on the V app to receive alarms whenever their celebrities are on air. The app allows viewers to chat with the stars in real time, send “hearts” on the shows they like, and to rewatch past broadcasts. The app also features a “chemi-beat” meter that calculates the chemistry between a fan and a star based on their interactions.

During the Winner & iKON show (Naver V App)

The beta version of Naver’s V app is now available for Android only. The iOS beta comes out in mid-August, for a full launch at the end of the month. For more information, visit www.vlive.tv.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)