Professional Baseball Captures 10 Million Spectators... Now Dominates TV Ratings Too

Entered the 'Top 10' for Ages 20-49 in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
KBO League on the Verge of Surpassing 10 Million Spectators for the Second Consecutive Year

The immense popularity of the 2025 professional baseball season, which is on the verge of surpassing 10 million spectators for the second consecutive year, is also evident in TV broadcast viewership ratings.

According to Yonhap News on August 21, the viewership rating for the Lotte Giants vs. LG Twins game broadcast by SPOTV the previous day (based on Nielsen Korea data) was 0.7% among viewers aged 20 to 49 in the Seoul metropolitan area. This figure is comparable to those of flagship news programs or popular variety shows on terrestrial TV, ranking 12th overall.

The stands are filled with a crowd as the professional baseball game between the Hanwha Eagles and the LG Twins, held on the 8th at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, was sold out. Photo by Yonhap News

Entered the 'Top 10' for ages 20-49 in the Seoul metropolitan area

The Lotte-LG game broadcast live on KBS 2TV on the 19th also recorded a 0.7% viewership rating for the same demographic, ranking 11th overall. On the same day, the Doosan Bears vs. Hanwha Eagles game broadcast live on SBS Sports recorded a 0.6% rating, placing 12th. Previously, the Lotte vs. Hanwha game broadcast live on KBS N Sports on the 14th achieved a 0.8% viewership rating among 20-49 year olds in the Seoul metropolitan area, ranking 9th overall and making it into the 'Top 10.' However, when measured by nationwide or household ratings, rather than the 20-49 demographic in the Seoul metropolitan area, there is still a noticeable gap compared to variety shows or main news programs.

Viewership ratings ranking for ages 20-49 in the Seoul metropolitan area on the 20th. Nielsen Korea, Yonhap News Agency

A broadcasting company official explained, "This actually proves that professional baseball is gaining significant popularity among younger viewers aged 20 to 49," and added, "This year, professional baseball broadcasts are frequently reaching nearly 1% viewership among 20-49 year olds in the Seoul metropolitan area and 2-3% among households."

KBO League on the verge of surpassing 10 million spectators for the second consecutive year

Last year, the KBO League became the first in the history of Korean professional sports to surpass 10 million spectators in a single season, and it is highly likely to achieve over 10 million spectators for the second year in a row this year.

As of August 20, a total of 9,827,890 spectators have attended 572 games, making it likely that the 10 million mark will be surpassed within this week. As of the same day, the average attendance per game is 17,182, which is a 31% increase compared to 14,728 during the same period last year. If the current trend continues through all 720 scheduled games, the total KBO League audience will reach 12,371,040. Last year, when the league first surpassed 10 million spectators, the total attendance was 10,887,705.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.