Are sports shows going too far?

Jung In-young, a presenter on cable channel KBS N Sports
/ Courtesy of KBS N Sports

Broadcasters try to boost ratings with scantily-clad women

By Baek Byung-yeul, Lee Kyung-min, Nam Hyun-woo, Park Ji-won

Lying on a sofa with a can of beer watching the day's results is an ideal evening for many sports fans.

Thanks to nationally distributed cable networks, Koreans can now enjoy the daily highlights of diverse games including baseball, football, basketball and golf.

And, as competition between broadcasters to garner more viewers gets hotter, female presenters are taking to wearing skimpier dresses.

Oh Jin-wook, 27, was recently startled while lounging on his couch and channel-surfing.

A beautiful lady in a sexy dress was hosting a sports show.

Oh, a self-proclaimed "master" of adult videos, said he felt an adrenalin rush different to what he experiences from such videos when watching the sports round-up.

"The announcers in such shows are not explicit, but sexy, and at the same time they are active and elegant," he said.

According to Oh, a dentist in Seoul who has to be at his hospital around 7 a.m., he felt compelled to watch the 30-minute-long late-night baseball show and then downloaded all previous episodes.

Some might say that Oh is a pervert for watching a sports show only to stare at good looking and sexy ladies, but others appreciate the attraction.

Kong Seo-young, a presenter on sports cable channel XTM, delivers highlights of the day's pro baseball games in "Baseball Wanna B." Critics say her dress is too showy. / Courtesy of XTM

As the penetration rate of cable TV in Korea marches toward 100 percent, the number of sports channels has also increased and broadcasters are seeking ways to boost viewing figures.

One strategy they have adopted is featuring more sexy and glamorous female announcers wearing provocative dresses.

Apparently, the tactic has succeeded in acquiring at least one viewer, Oh, who confessed that he seldom watches sports game unless it is a match between countries or a clash of tennis titans such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"I am convinced that it is good to watch a sports show hosted by beautiful and sexy women. What's more interesting is that I started to care about sports that I really did not care about before watching the show," Oh said.

"I don't really understand those naysayers' argument that such a sports show drives the commercialization of sex or has a negative impact on children. Think about K-pop girl groups whose members dress in revealing clothes and shake their bodies when performing risque choreography," he said.

"If somebody wants to criticize the announcers, he or she should consider denouncing those girl groups first. Why can't they see that the sports-ladies are expressing their beauty?"

Kim Sung-hyun, 35, answered gruffly to the question whether he watches shows presented by women.

"Do I keep watching the news if a female reporter is attractive? Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" said Kim.

"There's the English phrase eye-catching. I fully understand it. Female presenters really catch my eyes," he added.

While the two are mesmerized by such shows, Choi Jin-a (alias), 28, voices a different idea, disapproving of the two men's compliments about the shows.

"The announcers go too far," said Choi. "They are opinion leaders of society, not a member of some silly girl group."

She suggests that a different standard should be applied to the presenters when it comes to sexuality, because they are widely accepted as icons of intelligent womanhood, not pop stars.

"They can show off their beauty in other preferable ways; not by revealing their bodies. I think it is their obligation to keep their dignity as a presenter and not become a feast for men's eyes," Choi said.

"If some of them want to wear such revealing dresses, rather than being identified as a spokeswoman of public opinion, I think they do not deserve the title of presenter."

As the captured images of scantily-clad sports show hosts tops the next morning's hit list almost every day on major Internet portals, the presenter's tiny dresses have became a controversial issue, with those in favor and those against locking horns over it.

Kong Seo-young, a presenter on sports cable channel XTM, wears skimpy and sexy dresses. Many media outlets and sports fans say that her clothing shows too much of her body, but Kong, a former member of a K-pop girl group seems to enjoy the controversy.

Choi hee, a presenter on KBS N Sports, confessed that her current role was not her original career choice during a radio talk show last year.

Another former presenter, asking not to be named, said, "Wearing those dresses can be interpreted in many ways. Some presenters enjoy attracting attention by wearing sensational clothes. But some are forced to wear them because producers are seeking get higher TV ratings. Personally, I respect all individuals whatever they wear. Being a sports presenter isn't an easy job because it is a relatively new role here."

But weather forecasters have caused controversy.

Weather reporter-turned-TV celebrity Park Eun-ji seems to be a case in point. Her figure and style of dress helped her appeal more to viewers ― making her an iconic TV personality ― rather than her professional objective of conveying more accurate weather information than anyone else with precise and captivating enunciation.

A baseball fan said, "Being a sports presenter is their second choice. Some were even former entertainers. I don't expect professionalism from them regarding sports knowledge; so it is not weird at all for them to become sensational because they are a type of entertainer. They are contaminating the reputation of presenters."

Shin Kwang-yeong, a sociology professor at Chungang University, said, "As competition among the media for viewer ratings becomes more intense, broadcasters tend to center on sexually suggestive content, compromising their original intent."

"This is far away from their original duties to convey accurate and unbiased information. This shallow and superficial idea comes from a social atmosphere that places too much importance on appearance," Shin said.

"Emphasizing the entertainment aspect of the media, rather than considering educational and public functions, can lead our society toward further moral decline."

Lee Jae-seung, a male reporter at JTBC, a cable network owned by the JoongAng Ilbo said, "TV broadcasters are responsible for their own ratings to a certain degree. There are many ways to attract viewers. Choosing what presenters wear is just one way of doing this."

Lee claimed that recent criticism reflects only one aspect of public opinion. "What reporters wear doesn't compromise their professional attitude. Rather, it can serve as a way to further their careers," he explained.

"Male weather reporters also need have something special to differentiate themselves from their female counterparts. Weather reporting has to be kept a little light and breezy as opposed to hard news such as politics and economics, for which being regarded as trustworthy is the key to attract viewers."