This is a significant change as much as the recruitment and trade of free agents or whether a top-rated player will advance to the big leagues. In addition, this is a definite change not only in the industrialization of professional baseball but also in the baseball ecosystem. CJ ENM has been confirmed as the preferred operator for wired and wireless (new media) broadcasting rights to deliver the KBO League to the home and hands.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) closed the application of proposals for preferred negotiators for the new media broadcasting rights project on the 3rd. A total of three companies submitted proposals and announced on the 8th that CJ ENM was selected as the preferred bidder. In addition to CJ ENM, a portal communication consortium consisting of Naver, SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and Afreeca TV participated. Eicla Entertainment, which has been in charge of broadcasting KBO League cable TV and IPTV through SPOTV, participated.
Prior to the bidding, KBO said that it is a company with a capital of more than 1 billion won that can organize wired and wireless broadcasting through its own platforms and channels. On the 5th, it also conducted a technical evaluation review for each company. The contract period is three years. A KBO official said, “We plan to hold detailed negotiations with the preferred bidder. When the negotiations are finalized, we plan to announce the size of the contract and key matters.” 에볼루션 바카라사이트
CJ ENM has OTT service TVing. It is currently merging with SK Square OTT Service Wave. In 2023, it signed a contract with a consortium of telecommunications and portal sites, a new media operator, and broadcasted the KBO League on TVing.
A CJ ENM official said in a telephone conversation with Sports Seoul, “We understood that the KBO League is appropriate content that we need. The KBO League is a sports content that represents Korea no matter what anyone says. We participated in the bid to improve service quality for existing TVing subscribers and diversify the portfolio of KBO League contents.”
The most notable part of the selection of new media operators was the universal viewing rights. Existing portal operators provided free KBO League live broadcast services. Considering that TVing is a paid subscription service, the KBO League live broadcast service will also be converted to a fee.
“In consultation with KBO and clubs, we will find ways to satisfy and help Korean baseball fans,” a source from TVing said. “We will find ways to increase the satisfaction level of viewership,” adding, “The method and timing of broadcasting have not been decided yet. We will guide all operation methods after consultation with KBO.” Amid changing viewing environment, the government plans to allow baseball fans to use video clips that they have long been looking forward to.
A CJ ENM official said, “We plan to open all highlights and clip services except live services. We will open them on both YouTube and SNS. We will also allow shorts for individual YouTubers,” adding, “We will create an environment where people who use the service will not feel uncomfortable using them at all and we will make it a better service policy.” Unlike the past five years, we have promised to open and recycle baseball videos.
From the KBO’s point of view, it is said that this part has come a long way. Basically, CJ ENM dominated the bid. And unlike competitors who still expressed a closed position on the baseball video opening, CJ ENM fully opens it.
In fact, at the beginning of the last new media contract, the use of baseball videos was strongly restricted. As a result, KBO league video content fell sharply on YouTube and SNS. The dugout direct cam video, which the club has been working hard to create, was simply fixed as a dugout. In order to capture the ground video of baseball on camera, each club had to sign a contract. Baseball videos, which are the core of KBO’s official YouTube channel and SNS, have also been completely excluded. It was a move that was far from the global professional sports league spreading game videos in real time.
Now, all KBO league fans can become creators. Since video editing is possible with mobile phones, a variety of video contents are expected to be produced. The KBO League will also be included in a world where everyone enjoys YouTube and SNS. After what KBO and each club judged as the lost five years, KBO league games are expected to spread every day on YouTube and SNS from the 2024 season.
