Cable channels fined for excessive ads during baseball games

By Cho Mu-hyun

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has fined four cable sports channels for excessive advertising during broadcasts of baseball games.

KBS N Sports, MBC Sports Plus, SBS Espn and XTM were fined 5 million won each for airing commercials beyond the legal limit.

Broadcasting laws state that a channel can face a maximum fine of 10 million won should a commercial take up more than a quarter of the screen during coverage. For baseball games, no advertisements can be digitally adjusted to be placed on players, umpires or spectators during broadcasts.

The KCC said the four broadcasters violated all these rules while showing Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) games.

``The four cable broadcasters have been excessively advertising continuously and we decided to fine them for those days it was the most excessive,” said Lee Hy-kyeong, manager of the KCC’s central radio monitoring office. “XTM was fined for its broadcast on May 27, and the other three for coverage on June 27.”

Lee says this is not the first time the government has fined broadcasters for extreme advertisement strategies, and the fine this time is a “reprimand and warning” to others.

“We expect there to be strong interest in sports especially this summer due to the London Olympics,” the KCC said in a statement. “We plan to promote and monitor standards to keep order in broadcasting advertisements.”

The agency added that it was “concerned” over the heated competition between companies.

The four channels that were fined are immensely popular as baseball has grown in popularity over the years to replace football as the national sport.

They are known for their extensive coverage and employing famous commentators. Each channel shows a different game from among

the four played in a day as there are eight clubs in the top division.

Baseball games are also becoming a huge revenue source for these companies as more devices besides television such as smartphones and tablets can support digital broadcasting. Advertising effects have consequently skyrocketed.

“I’m a fan of the SK Wyverns and I watch games when I head home following afternoon classes,” said college student Son Yong-han. “I watch them using my smartphone when I ride the bus and when I get home I continue watching on television.”

Son, who also watched the Super Bowl last year and understands the huge boost in advertisement dollars companies reap from sports games, says he wished firms would know when to stop. “I know it can’t be helped considering the returns but sometimes people just want to focus on the sport. Placement ads are, I think, enough.”

The KBO is expecting its biggest season ever this year, aiming to attract a record 8 million spectators to ballparks during the regular season.