The first victory in 16 years, the hidden 'broadcast war' and platform cataclysm > News

The broadcasting rights for this World Cup were difficult from the start. When JTBC, a subsidiary of JoongAng Group, announced that it had secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup, the three terrestrial broadcasters strongly opposed it, citing damage to universal viewing rights and a huge drain on national wealth. After intense negotiations, a compromise was reached with only KBS among the terrestrial broadcasters joining in the joint broadcast, but this broadcast, which was conducted without MBC and SBS, caused quite a stir in the broadcasting industry. Broadcasting companies used different strategies to increase their chances of winning, but JTBC tried to capture both professionalism and fun by featuring a proven combination of caster Bae Seong-jae and commentators Park Ji-seong and Kim Hwan. On the other hand, KBS selected entertainer Jeon Hyun-moo as a caster and appointed commentator Lee Young-pyo, the 'octopus young-pyo', to pursue a strategy to gain popularity and analytical power at the same time. The structure of legends Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo competing head-to-head while holding microphones at different broadcasting stations gave soccer fans a unique pleasure in choosing a game.

Looking at the viewership ratings, the fierce competition between the two broadcasters is clearly revealed. The total nationwide household viewership rating recorded 14.2%, proving explosive interest even under the unfavorable conditions of the weekday morning time slot. In terms of individual figures, KBS, which leveraged its strengths as a terrestrial broadcaster, recorded a household viewership rating of 8.5%, ahead of JTBC's 5.7%, demonstrating the power of universal viewing rights. However, in terms of viewership ratings among the 2049 generation and online topicality, JTBC achieved remarkable results, overwhelming KBS. In particular, it can be seen that viewers' satisfaction with JTBC's broadcasters was very high, with the highest viewership rating per minute in the metropolitan area soaring to 9.4%. This is not simply a matter of who recorded higher viewership ratings, but is an example of an important challenge for traditional TV channels on how to target the tastes of the digital generation.

The biggest feature of this World Cup broadcast is that the viewing platform has completely moved from ‘TV to mobile’. In a situation where existing major OTTs such as Coupang Play or TVing were unable to secure broadcasting rights, Naver's streaming platform 'Chizijik' quickly emerged as the only mobile viewing channel. In fact, the number of concurrent users through Chijijik exceeded 3.86 million, widening the gap to an incomparable level with the number of online users connected to KBS. This means that Naver's strategy, which combines real-time AI short form, briefings based on match data, and participatory broadcasts from popular streamers, was perfectly suited to the digital native generation. As a result, this World Cup became a turning point that proved that mobile streaming is no longer a secondary means, but has become the main viewing platform.

These changes also had a significant impact on the interests of broadcasters and platforms. The case of TVING discontinuing JTBC's real-time live service during the World Cup shows a cross-section of the conflict surrounding content distribution channels. On the other hand, Naver experienced an explosive increase in the number of platform users through the broadcast of this World Cup, and even achieved economic results in the form of a rise in its stock price. The fact that the number of real-time viewers has increased more than 13 times compared to usual shows the destructive power of digital platforms. As a result, through this tournament, soccer broadcasting has evolved beyond simple video transmission into an interactive service that combines data and community. Broadcasting companies are now faced with the task of finding flexible ways to cooperate with platforms rather than only asserting the authority of terrestrial broadcasters in line with the changed viewing environment.