The Era of 12 Million KBO League Fans… Overconcentration of Terrestrial Broadcasts: Is There No Way to Improve? [Ryu Sun-kyu's Bizball]

*This content was translated by AI.

The popularity of professional baseball is soaring. Following the historic breakthrough of 10 million spectators in 2024, the number exceeded 12 million in 2025. This year, too, the momentum continues as 1 million and 2 million spectators are reached with fewer games than last year.

Driven by this popularity, the trend of expanding professional baseball broadcasts on the three terrestrial networks is gradually increasing. This year, KBS has been broadcasting one game every Friday through "Friday Night Baseball" since the opening, while MBC is attracting viewers every Sunday with "Sunday Baseball." SBS is also continuing to broadcast professional baseball games, focusing on Saturday matches.

When professional baseball was established in 1982, SBS had not yet launched, so KBS and MBC broadcast the games. Among them, MBC, the parent company of MBC Cheongryong, one of the founding teams in 1982, was more active. However, when SBS TV launched in 1991, the era of three terrestrial networks broadcasting professional baseball began.

In the past, professional baseball broadcasts on terrestrial TV were regarded as having special significance for the teams. In the teams' key performance indicators (KPIs), terrestrial broadcasts held much higher value than sports channel broadcasts. As such, terrestrial broadcasts were welcomed by the teams, and players also showed a positive attitude toward them.

However, as time passed, the gap in broadcast influence between terrestrial networks and sports channels gradually narrowed, and accordingly, the teams' interest in terrestrial broadcasts has become lower than before.

In particular, when the game start time is moved up to 2 p.m. from the usual 5 p.m. due to Saturday terrestrial broadcasts, both the teams and the players often react negatively.

From the teams' perspective, changes in game times could lead to a decrease in the number of spectators and ticket revenue. However, with the recent rise in the popularity of professional baseball, fluctuations in the number of spectators due to game times have not been significant. In fact, on May 2, during the Munhak match between Lotte Giants and SSG Landers, a full house was recorded despite the game start time being moved up to 2 p.m. due to SBS broadcasting.

However, the situation was different in the past. When the game start time was moved up, a clear decrease in spectators was observed, and when games were changed from 5 p.m. to 2 p.m., empty seats in the stands became noticeably more frequent.

The players face difficulties in managing their physical condition. Schedules that require them to play a Saturday 2 p.m. game immediately after a Friday night game make it difficult for players to adjust their condition.

Because of this, while the teams' dissatisfaction with game start time changes due to terrestrial broadcasts has decreased compared to the past, the players still do not welcome it.

The fundamental problem is that terrestrial broadcasts tend to concentrate on popular teams. Popular teams often play Saturday afternoon games in April and May, which also acts as a factor that affects their performance to some extent.

Last year, terrestrial broadcasts were held a total of 39 times, with Hanwha (14 times), LG (13 times), and KIA (12 times) receiving the majority. In contrast, SSG and NC had only 4 and 2 broadcasts, respectively, clearly showing the phenomenon of broadcast concentration.

Kim Kyung-moon, manager of the Hanwha Eagles, said ahead of the May 24 Daejeon Lotte Giants game last year, when the game start time was moved up to 2 p.m. due to terrestrial broadcasts, "It is a blessing that we are popular, but from the manager's perspective, I wish the players could rest a bit more after playing night games and then play." He added, "I am worried about the players' fatigue because they play afternoon games too often."

■ Number of Games Broadcast on Terrestrial Networks by Team in 2025

▲ Hanwha 14

▲ LG 13

▲ KIA 12

▲ Lotte 8

▲ Doosan 8

▲ Kiwoom 7

▲ Samsung 5

▲ KT 5

▲ SSG 4

▲ NC 2

This year follows a similar trend. As of May 3, terrestrial broadcasts were held a total of 17 times, with Hanwha, which has the highest viewership, recording the most broadcasts at 8 times. In contrast, Kiwoom and NC were not broadcast even once, continuing the phenomenon of concentration.

■ Number of Games Broadcast on Terrestrial Networks by Team in 2026

▲ Hanwha 8

▲ Doosan 6

▲ KIA 6

▲ LG 4

▲ Samsung 4

▲ Lotte 3

▲ SSG 2

▲ KT 1

So, is there no solution at the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) level to address the concentration of terrestrial broadcasts?

First, one option to consider is limiting the number of monthly terrestrial broadcasts per team to a certain level (e.g., around two times). While this may be disappointing for terrestrial broadcasters in terms of securing viewership, it can be expected to alleviate the burden of concentrating on specific popular teams and improve fairness among teams. In particular, since the TV broadcasting rights contract with the three terrestrial networks is set to expire this year, it may be worth considering reflecting such measures in the future renewal process.

Another option is a differentiated payment plan for broadcasting rights fees based on the number of broadcasts. Although the KBO has distributed broadcasting rights fees equally to teams since its establishment, it is also worth considering a method that partially reflects the frequency of terrestrial broadcast exposure and pays accordingly. If a certain level of incentive is reflected, it could help alleviate the dissatisfaction of popular teams due to broadcast concentration.

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*This content was translated by AI.