SBS and WBC Korea ranked first in the ratings of all games."I can feel the world's high walls"

*This content was translated by AI.

The challenge of the South Korean baseball team stopped in the quarterfinals, but the voices that resonated in the local relay seats in Miami left heavy homework for Korean baseball. SBS broadcasters consisting of commentators Lee Dae-ho and Lee Soon-cheol and caster Jung Woo-young delivered a cool analysis and warm comfort at the same time in the 2026 WBC quarterfinal match against the Dominican Republic held on the 14th (Korea Standard Time).

In the quarterfinals, where the fate of the Republic of Korea was at stake, the overwhelming choice of viewers was SBS. According to Nielsen Korea, SBS broadcasting dominated other companies and topped all indicators of viewership in the nation and the metropolitan area. SBS recorded 4.0% (MBC 3.7% and KBS 3.1%), 1.8% (MBC 1.6% and KBS 0.8%), and 780,000 viewers nationwide. In the Seoul metropolitan area, SBS soared to 4.4 percent (3.6 percent for MBC, 2.8 percent for KBS), 2.1 percent for 2049 (1.7 percent for MBC, 0.5 percent for KBS), 550,000 for viewers, and 5.3 percent for households. As a result, SBS kept its pride as a "sports broadcasting master" by setting a record of No. 1 ratings in all games of the Korean national team from the first round of the WBC qualifying round to the quarterfinals of the finals.

After the game, committee member Lee Soon-cheol presented a cold-headed analysis of the reality of Korean baseball. Lee revealed objective indicators, saying, "Korea's overall restraint is ranked 17th among 20 WBC participating countries this year." "Now the era of 140-kilometer balls in international competitions is over. "The biggest challenge is to check the gap with the world's level, where the ball control is not shaken even though he throws a fastball close to 160 kilometers." In particular, he stressed that the overall stability of the Korean baseball system should be strengthened, saying, "We need to think about a fundamental fostering system to improve restraint from the amateur stage."

Lee Dae-ho also added a technical analysis from the batter's point of view. "Unlike the domestic league, Dominican pitchers' balls over 150km changed on the body and outside, making it difficult to even hit the bat," Lee said, explaining the high level of world baseball. Regarding Ryu Hyun-jin's loss, he also pointed out the international stage's rapid information sharing and response, saying, "It is the result of sharing information and preparing for the 'ball is not as fast as before' after the first inning."

Despite the cold analysis, he did not forget the warm encouragement to the players. "It's important to get at least one from this stage regardless of the result," Lee Dae-ho, a member of the committee, said in a crisis situation in the bottom of the seventh inning, and after the game, he encouraged the players who bowed their heads, saying, "The players who came all the way here through the hard hole really worked hard."

At the end of the competition, caster Jung Woo-young said, "It will be a good stimulus to confirm that the best we had was this far." SBS's WBC broadcast, which included the enthusiasm of Miami, the reality of Korean baseball, and heartfelt advice to the players, successfully concluded the quarterfinals journey with the milestone of "No. 1 ratings in all games." SBS, which solidified its status as a sports broadcaster with overwhelming ratings, will broadcast until the 2026 WBC final.

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*This content was translated by AI.