Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Streaming platforms bet on sports broadcasting to lock in subscribers
Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers reacts after hitting an RBI double against the Doosan Bears during the two team’s KBO League baseball game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, April 17. Newsis
By Baek Byung-yeul
Streaming platforms are increasingly turning to live sports broadcasting as a strategy to retain subscribers, with the trend now extending beyond traditional sports into esports, industry officials said Thursday.
As platforms look for new ways to hold onto subscribers in an increasingly crowded market, live sports and esports are emerging as some of their most reliable tools.
They said the appeal of live sports for streaming platforms is rooted in the nature of the content itself. Unlike dramas or films, which viewers tend to watch once before moving on to another content, sports events can continuously garner viewers with new games and competitions held on a regular basis. This gives fans a recurring reason to keep their subscriptions active.
“Diversifying content lineups, broadening subscriber demographics and the relatively lower production costs compared to making original series or movies are among the key reasons why sports events, including esports, are becoming increasingly attractive to streaming platforms,” an official from a local content industry said on condition of anonymity.
In Korea, the shift is already showing clear results. Tving, a streaming platform of local content giant CJ ENM, has been streaming the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, a professional baseball league here, since 2024.
The platform's KBO viewership this year is up 30 percent compared to the same period last year, with female viewers in their 20s emerging as a fast-growing segment.
Members of the T1 pose with the KeSPA Cup trophy after defeating the Hanwha Life Esports during a League of Legends game at Sangam SOOP Colosseum in Seoul, Dec. 14, 2025. The match was exclusively streamed by Disney+. Courtesy of Korea e-Sports Association
Disney+ has taken a different route into the sports streaming space, with a focus on esports.
The platform served as the official broadcaster of the 2025 League of Legends KeSPA Cup, organized by the Korea e-Sports Association, streaming matches live while also producing original interview and behind-the-scenes content.
Disney+ will also broadcast the Esports Championships Asia 2026, to be held in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, from Friday to Sunday.
The tournament, which began as a Korea-China-Japan competition in 2021 before expanding to a broader Asian format last year, features seven countries including Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Mongolia this year. A total of 150 national team athletes are competing, the largest roster in the event's history.
Kim Young-man, chairman of the Korea e-Sports Association, said the partnership reflects the growing global value of Korean esports content.
"The Asian esports championships is becoming an important stage where national team-level players sharpen their competitive edge ahead of major international competitions like the Asian Games," Kim said.
Coupang Play has also been streaming the K League, the professional football league here, since 2022, helping the platform attract sports fans.
Netflix, the dominant player in the global streaming market, made its foray into sports broadcasting in late March, streaming a Major League Baseball opening game live from Oracle Park in San Francisco. The platform also acquired the exclusive broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan for around 15 billion yen ($940 million).