Whether it's baseball or soccer, sports entertainment is popular from the goal girl to the strongest baseball spinoff
Apr 03, 2025
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The KBO League this 2025 season has decided to open baseball stadiums nationwide from the first week of its opening. Tickets for the opening game on March 22nd were sold out, proving the enthusiasm of the crowd, and on the 23rd, the next day, nearly 110,000 spectators visited the stadium. The enthusiasm for online viewing is also not easy.
Teving said the number of visitors to the city hall increased by 16% year-on-year in the two days after the opening, and the total viewing time surged by as much as 130%. Particularly noticeable was that those in their 20s were the highest with 31% of the viewers. In other words, the generational shift in baseball is also taking place among content consumers.
Baseball entertainment contents are also expanding in a variety of ways in line with this.
In addition to broadcasting existing games, TVing is targeting fans' hearts by expanding baseball-related contents such as 'Kim Sung-geun's Winter Vacation', 'Monday Planning LIVE', and 'KBO Futures League Broadcast'. In particular, the original TVing entertainment show 'Baseball Representative: League of Fans', which was very popular last year, is returning to season 2 and igniting the baseball entertainment craze once again. The entertainment, in which celebrities and commentators representing each club closely cover and discuss the club instead of fans, has become a must-have content for baseball's introduction to making 'Ya-know 'Ya-know '. At the time of season 1, YouTube's cumulative views exceeded 30 million views, proving its buzz, and season 2 will be released on TVing every Sunday from March 30.
Soccer entertainment is also strengthening its lineup in earnest.
SBS's popular entertainment show 「"The Goal-bashing Women" is about to undergo a massive reorganization of the national team ahead of the second match against Korea and Japan, and at the same time, a large number of new candidate members are joining, signaling a fierce survival structure.
JTBC's longevity entertainment show 『Gathering Up』 returns for its fourth season and begins a new fantasy league. 'Gathering 4' is operated by gathering soccer enthusiasts from all walks of life, including idols, actors, sports stars, and influencer, and two legendary coaches, Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Hang-seo, directly compete for resource. The new expansion of the united series, which has been called National Team Entertainment, is expected to prove the popularity of soccer entertainment once again.
LG U+'s content studio 'STUDIO X+U'Man in Europe 2025' also attracts attention.
Park Ji-sung and Evra meet Korean soccer players in Europe in person and reveal various interviews and behind-the-scenes stories, drawing high views and fans' responses immediately after the release of season 2 following last season 1. Targeting OTT and broadcasting channels (Channel A) at the same time, it is aired every Wednesday and Thursday on U+Mobile TV, U+TV, and Channel A, expanding its contact point with fans.
As such, sports entertainment is evolving into content that is more closely related to fans than just broadcasting games. Attention is focusing on whether sports entertainment, armed with differentiated content, can be a priming water for beginners beyond existing fans.
mj.cho@sportschosun.com
