[Official] KBO Finally Makes New History! First-Ever Eight Teams to Surpass 10 thousand won Fans, How Was the Regular Season Attendance Record Achieved?

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 KBO League set a new all-time regular season attendance record.

As of the previous day (the 5th), with 699 games played, 12.362 million fans visited baseball stadiums, surpassing the previous single-season attendance record of 12.312519 million from the 2025 season within one year.

The KBO League, which started with a total of 1.438768 million fans in its inaugural season in 1982, achieved 10 million fans for the first time in history in the 2024 season. Following the 12.312519 million fans in the 2025 season, this season marks two consecutive years of surpassing 12 million and three consecutive years of surpassing 10 million fans. Additionally, for the first time in history, eight out of the ten teams surpassed 10 thousand won fans.

As of the 5th, the average attendance was 17,685, an increase of approximately 4% compared to the same number of games last year. The overall seat occupancy rate stands at 85.2%. Games in Jamsil, Daegu, and Suwon on the 5th sold out, leaving just one game short of the record of 331 sold-out games set last year.

The KBO conducted a survey to identify factors behind the achievement of the regular season record and simultaneously examined related ripple effects.

▲ Strong Performance in International Tournaments and Active Young Stars Drive League Popularity

Ahead of the season opener, the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March saw a dramatic advancement to the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years, and the heated baseball enthusiasm directly led to the popularity of the KBO League opening. Additionally, achievements in international tournaments, such as winning gold medals for five consecutive games at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held in September, boosted the pride of baseball fans and further heightened interest in the league. The active performance of young star players on Yeo Gi-e (CEO)'s team and in the league drove popular appeal, acting as a strong factor leading to new fan inflow and stadium visits.

▲ Online Video Content Leads to Stadium Visits

When the KBO signed a broadcast rights contract for wired and wireless media in 2024, it allowed fans to produce online video content using game scenes. In this survey, 87.0% of respondents answered that they had experience watching secondary processed game videos, with the watched content (multiple responses) being 'Highlight edits' (50.8%), 'Humor/interesting videos' (34.2%), and 'Fan-made videos' (32.3%) in that order.

Among respondents who watched secondary processed videos before actively visiting baseball stadiums to watch directly, 67.2% answered that watching the secondary processed videos influenced their stadium visits. This ratio was relatively high among those in their 20s (72.3%) and women (69.1%), indicating that online video content contributed to bringing young people and female fans to baseball stadiums.

The trend of encountering the KBO League through online video content is also confirmed in official SNS channel metrics.

As of September, the number of subscribers to the KBO's official YouTube channel was approximately 500,000, an increase of about 89,000 (21.6%) compared to the same month last year, and the volume of short-form content published this year also increased by about 2.5 times compared to the same period last year. The number of followers on the official Instagram was also approximately 740,000, an increase of about 140,000 (23.2%) compared to the same month last year. In particular, those aged 18 to 34 accounted for 71.4% of total followers, forming a user base centered on young people.

Furthermore, content that closely conveys the appearance of the national team also showed high viewer interest in terms of view counts. The average views per video related to the 2026 WBC and the 2026 Asian Games recorded approximately 61.3% and 324.5% higher views, respectively, compared to the channel's overall average.

The KBO is making various efforts to expand content, such as introducing artificial intelligence (AI)-based content production to distribute key game scenes in real-time short forms, while also broadening digital touchpoints with fans by introducing baseball content created directly by fans on official Instagram.

▲ Increased Weekday Attendance, Continued Steps to Baseball Stadiums Even on Weekdays

As of the 1st, the average attendance per game for weekday (Tuesday to Thursday, excluding holidays) games in the 2026 KBO League was 15,953, an increase of 4.3% from 15,291 last year. By day of the week, average attendance increased on Tuesday (3.5%), Wednesday (2.5%), and Thursday (7.3%), with Thursday showing the largest increase. Baseball outings, which had been concentrated on weekends, are spreading to weekday evening leisure, supporting the league's popularity.

▲ Systems for Enhancing Fairness and Shortening Game Times Have Positive Impact on Viewing

76.7% of survey respondents evaluated that changes and establishment of league operation systems such as ABS (Automated Ball-Strike), pitch clock, and check-swing video review had a positive impact on inducing game viewing. Responses indicating a positive impact on league operation by system were highest for check-swing video review (70.6%), Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS, 70.4%), improvement of the video review system and introduction of wireless intercoms (70.0%), and pitch clock (66.4%) in that order.

▲ Launch of Diverse Collaborative Products

The KBO and the 10th teams are collaborating with brands in various fields such as food, fashion, cosmetics, lifestyle, sports, and eco-friendly goods to further expand the scope of utilization of the KBO League IP.

Beyond existing product categories such as uniforms, clothing, and miscellaneous items, they are expanding into products that fans can use in their daily lives. This year, in particular, they collaborated with CJ Onstyle's own PB brand to compose various lines centered on fragrance and home living products, and also conducted collaborations with highly recognized products such as Lotte Pepero and Paldo Bibim-myeon (mixed noodles). Through this, fans of all age groups can encounter the KBO League outside the stadium and naturally express their fandom for their supporting teams.

Additionally, by continuing collaborations with global brands such as Crocs, Starbucks, and Casetify, they have created opportunities to introduce the KBO League IP to baseball fans both domestically and internationally. The KBO plans to continue presenting products and programs that allow fans to enjoy baseball more closely through collaborations with various brands in the future.

The 10 teams are also collaborating with popular animation characters, food and beverage, and fashion brands to present products and content reflecting each team's personality and fandom culture.

▲ Increase in TV Viewership Numbers

The expansion of KBO League fans was also confirmed in the increase in TV ratings. As of September 27, the average combined TV rating for the 2026 KBO League was 1.22%, an increase of 6.1% from 1.15% last year. The average combined number of viewers per game was 283,408, an increase of 3.83% from 272,957 last year.

▲ From 10 thousand won to 12 Million Fans, All Achieved in the Fewest Games in History

Since its opening on March 28, the 2026 KBO League achieved all attendance milestones in units of 10 thousand won with the fewest games in history. On April 10, it surpassed 10 thousand won fans in just 55 games, ahead by 5 games compared to the 2025 season (60 games), and subsequently surpassed 2 million (117 games), 3 million (166 games), 4 million (222 games), 5 million (275 games), 6 million (334 games), and 7 million (388 games) fans in the fewest games in history, respectively.

In the first half, 7.633775 million people entered across 424 games, recording the most fans in a first half in history. In the second half as well, it achieved 80 thousand won fans in just 443 games on July 19 and 9 million fans in just 505 games on August 11, and on August 26, it surpassed 10 million fans in just 565 games, recording 10 million fans for three consecutive years since the 2024 season. This is a record 22 games faster than the 2025 season (587 games).

On September 12, it achieved 11 million fans in just 626 games, and on October 1, it achieved 12 million fans in just 684 games, both being achieved in the fewest games in history.

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*This content was translated by AI.