KBO’s bid attracted great attention not only from the broadcasting and telecommunications industries but also from baseball fans. This is because a major change was expected in the traditional KBO league content consumption method depending on which company won the broadcasting rights.
Under the existing Naver consortium system, people could watch baseball games through Naver, Afreeca TV and telecom service providers. These services provided free broadcasting without additional fees, which had a positive impact on the expansion of the KBO League fan base. 안전한 파워볼사이트
However, as CJ ENM Co., Ltd., which operates TVing, won the broadcasting right, there is a possibility that online broadcasting of the KBO League will become paid. Industry experts predict that online broadcasting of professional baseball may be available only through OTT service “TVing” or only for paid customers. Or, it is possible to release baseball broadcasting as a product linked to other services.
TVing has continued its aggressive bid in the market by signing a merger MOU with rival OTT service Wavve recently. It is known that the company spent a huge amount of money in the bid, surpassing Naver (late 20 billion won per year) and Aikla (30 billion won per year). Many people in and out of the KBO said that the contract amount is important, but fans should guarantee universal viewing rights, but it was hard to turn a blind eye to TVing, which offered an overwhelming amount of money.
Meanwhile, in the OTT industry, sports broadcasting rights contracts are attracting attention as a new alternative to increasing the number of subscribers. Overseas, “Apple TV Plus” enjoyed a significant increase in the number of subscribers after securing exclusive broadcasting rights for all U.S. Major League soccer matches. In Korea, TVing secured exclusive broadcasting rights for Euro 2020 and Germany’s Bundesliga, and Coupang Play is also exclusively broadcasting various big matches of domestic and international soccer, including K League.