TVing operator CJ ENM wins KBO digital broadcast rights

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TVing operator CJ ENM wins KBO digital broadcast rights

Published: 04 Mar. 2024, 09:56 Updated: 04 Mar. 2024, 17:12

JIM BULLEY
jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr

CJ ENM has won the KBO’s wired and wireless broadcasting rights for three years from 2024 through 2026 in a 135-billion-won ($101-million) deal, Korea’s baseball organization announced Monday.

The KBO said in an emailed statement Monday that the deal was finalized after contract negotiations held from Jan. 8 to Feb. 16. CJ ENM is the operator of Korean streaming service TVing.

The KBO opened initial bidding for the contract, which essentially covers all digital broadcast rights, from Dec. 4, 2023, to Jan. 3.

Alongside CJ ENM, three broadcasters including SPOTV and a consortium of portal websites Naver and Kakao alongside telecoms companies KT, LG Uplus and SK Broadband reportedly entered bids.

The consortium of telecoms and portal companies held the previous KBO wired and wireless broadcasting contract, from 2019 to 2023, which they won with a record 110-billion-won ($83-million) bid, at the time the largest ever in Korean sports.

Under the new deal, the KBO and CJ ENM will lift restrictions on posting clips of baseball games on social media, allowing fans to use videos that are under 40 seconds long without limitation. Under the previous deal, the sharing of clips on social media was seen as an infringement on the rights deal.

“Through this contract, any baseball fan can freely use the game shorts video, which is less than 40 seconds long, on all social media platforms,” the KBO said in the statement Monday.

“KBO league game videos have been restricted from use on social media for the past five years. However, starting this season, baseball fans will be allowed to actively produce memes and GIFs. Through this, the KBO and the clubs expect to increase the accessibility of baseball and expand the number of core fans through the use of various videos.”

CJ ENM will broadcast exhibition games through the TVing app for free until April 30. Once the regular season starts, games will be available for TVing subscribers, along with dedicated channels for each of the 10 KBO teams.

The wired and wireless broadcasting rights deal does not affect TV broadcasts, which will continue as usual. It is a domestic contract and will not impact international KBO viewers.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]