Professional Baseball Opens ‘Era of Ten Million Spectators’

The Power of Female Fans and Short-Form Content

Korean professional baseball has made a new history by reaching the ’10 million spectator era’ for the first time in 42 years. On the 17th, the Kia Tigers confirmed their first place in the regular league for the first time in 7 years, becoming the protagonist of this era.

At the center of the popularity of professional baseball were the ‘2030 female’ fans. Among the All-Star Game ticket buyers in July, women in their 20s and 30s accounted for 68.8% of the total, and each team deployed a marketing strategy targeting them. LG Twins presented ‘Janmangroopy’ goods, while Doosan and Lotte presented clothing and goods through collaborations with various characters.

In addition, ‘short-form’, a short video content, stimulated the curiosity of female fans. The ‘Pikki Pikki Dance’ of the Kia cheering squad, which became a hot topic on SNS, played a big role in making the baseball stadium a fun ‘playground’. The video agreement with CJ ENM is also evaluated as a factor that increased this enthusiasm.

The revival of traditional powerhouses Kia and Samsung also led to box office success. Kia continued to set the record for the largest number of spectators, drawing fans throughout the season, and Samsung also achieved the feat of exceeding 1 million spectators for the season. The fierce competition among mid-level teams and the emergence of new stars such as Kim Do-young, Kim Taek-yeon, and Kim Young-woong also further increased the popularity of professional baseball.

Kia is now moving towards its first unified championship in seven years, and the popularity of professional baseball in the ’10 million spectator era’ is expected to continue for the time being.