“Women’s Basketball, Baseball Popularity Crisis” In the era of KBO pay-per-view, players’ responsibilities have also increased

KBS N Sports commentator Park Yong-taek (45), whose number 33 was permanently retired by the LG Twins and who was also named one of the KBO’s 40 Legends, attended the 2024 KBO Rookie Orientation Training at the Daejeon Convention Center on the 9th and reiterated the importance of fan service to the 132 new players as an attitude they should have as professional athletes.

“As a professional baseball player, the most important thing is the fans,” said Park, who has been known for his exceptional fan service since he was an active player.

I went to the Women’s Professional Basketball All-Star Game two days ago, and I was surprised and reflected on it quite a bit,” said Park, who visited the WKBL All-Star Game in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do on July 7.

“One player after another was introduced, and they were dancing on a circular stage to the music like they had practiced a lot.

Some players were embarrassed and struggled, but every single one of them did it. “

Even the coaches came out in their uniforms and joined the players,” Park recalled.

“It was a fan service that they could do for the fans to save women’s professional basketball.

When (guest singers) Dynamic Duo sang, it gave me goosebumps to see everyone creating a festive atmosphere.

The more I looked at it, the more I reflected on it.”

Last year, the KBO surpassed 8 million fans (8.01 million 326) for the first time in five years, reaffirming the league’s status as Korea’s most popular sport.

Despite all the bad news, the KBO’s fan base has remained steadfast.

The number of younger fans who enjoy the culture of cheering at the ballpark has also increased considerably, but the popularity of the game cannot be sustained without a constant influx of new fans.

“You may have heard KBO President Heo Gu-yeon say that Korean baseball is not good now, that it is a crisis. It is indeed a crisis. 온라인카지노

The influx of new baseball fans is not going well.

There are a lot of older fans who have always loved baseball.

We need to keep bringing in new fans, but it’s been pretty slow.”

“It’s a program for older people, not a program for young people who are really hot right now.

You are the ones who can change that,” he said, urging rookies to have a greater sense of professionalism and engage in more active fan service.

As the KBO enters the era of paid online broadcasting, the roles and responsibilities of players have also become more important.

The KBO announced on the 9th that it has selected CJ ENM as the preferred bidder for the wired and wireless (new media) broadcasting rights for the KBO League from 2024 to 2026.

CJ ENM reportedly offered an average of more than 40 billion won per year.

This is double the five-year total of 110 billion won ($22 billion per year on average) signed with a telecommunications and portal consortium in February 2019.

If the deal is finalized and the broadcasting rights are not resold, fans will only be able to watch the KBO League on CJ ENM’s online video service (OTT) platform TVING on PC or mobile.


As it is a paid subscription service, fans will have to open their wallets. In the meantime, baseball fans are accustomed to enjoying KBO League live streaming online for free through major portal sites and telecom services.

Paying for content is a trend in today’s world, but sudden changes can create resistance and backlash from fans.

While the KBO could use the “universal viewing rights” argument to win free broadcasts in the final negotiations, it is likely that the service will be differentiated in terms of quality and content between free and paid subscribers.

In one way or another, fans’ viewing rights are expected to be restricted.

CJ ENM has been highly praised for its scalability, allowing all videos except live broadcasts to be used on other platforms.

It is expected to be very effective in attracting the interest and attention of the younger generation through the trendy “short” videos and secondary creations.

However, the barrier to entry for pay-per-view is high because sports are ‘live’.

The number of single-person households without TVs is increasing, and the inconvenience of existing older fans has increased.

Starting with new media, we cannot exclude the possibility that TV broadcasting rights will be paid in the future.

It’s time to pay to watch baseball at home without going to the ballpark.

For this to happen, the quality and value of the league must be much higher than it is now.

Fans need to see baseball that is worth their money.

Players have a lot more responsibility to not only hone their skills and perform at the top of their game, but also to be a product that speaks for itself to fans through more proactive fan service and exemplary behavior.