'PS cumulative viewership reaches 22.4 million' KIA-Samsung PO surpasses KS

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The cumulative viewership for the 2026 KBO League postseason (PS) was surveyed to reach 22.4 million. Both the average rating and the number of viewers showed that the playoff (PO) between the Samsung Lions and the KIA Tigers surpassed the Korea Series (KS·Samsung-KT Wiz).

According to a release by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on the 11th, this year's postseason TV average rating was 7.03%, an increase of approximately 2% compared to last year (6.89%). This marks two consecutive years of growth since the 2024 postseason (6.12%). In this postseason, 13 out of 14 games, from the Wild Card Series to the Korea Series, were broadcast live on terrestrial channels, excluding the fourth game of the playoffs.

The game with the highest rating was the second game of the Korea Series, recording 9.63%. The total number of viewers also reached 2,189,739, the highest among this year's postseason games. Following that, the third game of the playoffs had a rating of 9.17% and a total viewer count of 2,085,133.

The average ratings by series were 6.30% for the Wild Card Series, 5.67% for the Junior Playoffs, 7.78% for the playoffs, and 7.25% for the Korea Series, with the playoffs being the highest. The fourth game of the playoffs, broadcast on a cable sports channel rather than a terrestrial one, also hit 7.61%. The Wild Card Series featuring the 'Jamsil Rivalry' between the LG Twins and the Doosan Bears increased by approximately 49% compared to last year (4.24%).

The cumulative total viewership was 1,432,879 for the Wild Card Series (1 game), 3,872,915 for the Junior Playoffs (3 games), 8,844,333 for the playoffs (5 games), and 8,249,873 for the Korea Series (5 games). Excluding the first game of the KIA-LG Junior Playoffs (904,010 viewers), all games exceeded 1 million viewers, with three games drawing over 2 million. The total cumulative viewership was 22.4 million, and the average number of viewers nationwide was recorded at 1.6 million.

The KBO stated, "Following three consecutive years of attracting 10 million spectators to the regular season since the 2024 season, the KBO League set a new all-time record for total attendance (12,775,501) this year. In the 14th postseason games as well, 299,600 people visited the stadiums, resulting in sellouts for every game." It added, "Viewership metrics also showed an upward trend in average ratings compared to last year, indicating that the heat of the regular season carried over into the postseason."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original