A question that a self-employed person asked the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on social media has drawn attention. The person asked whether a separate expense must be paid when putting on a baseball broadcast at a restaurant or hof.
The KBO said a public screening fee of 3 million won per game, or 100 million won for the entire season, must be paid. The self-employed person, who did not know such a fee existed, said, "I can't help but think I might end up a potential criminal at this rate."
◇"3.3 million won per baseball game"… self-employed say it is a "burden"
The "public screening right" required to put on a pro baseball broadcast in stores is under scrutiny. Self-employed people are pushing back, saying the price is excessively high. The gap was large even compared with other domestic pro sports and overseas cases.
According to the KBO on the 7th, in principle, restaurants, hofs, and sports pubs must pay a separate rights expense to screen games. That is because the KBO and its marketing subsidiary KBOP hold the game video copyrights.
A KBO official said, "When inquiries come in by phone or email, we review them internally case by case and guide the procedures." However, there is no separate enforcement against stores that have not purchased public screening rights.
The issue is the expense. After asking for a quote on the condition of installing a TV or screen in a 20-pyeong restaurant, the public screening right for one game a day was 3.3 million won including VAT. If a store were to put on all five games broadcast in a day, it would cost 16.5 million won.
The public screening right to show all teams' regular-season games is 110 million won including VAT. The postseason requires an additional 30.8 million won. In total, a store would have to shoulder 140.8 million won to put on pro baseball games for one season.
Self-employed people said the amount is effectively unmanageable. A person surnamed Shin (32), who runs a sports pub in Dongjak District, Seoul, said, "It's hard to understand how the public screening right price was calculated," adding, "Honestly, how many stores make more than 100 million won in net profit a year?"
A person surnamed Lim (46), who runs a barbecue restaurant in Bupyeong District, Incheon, also said, "Even if I rent out the entire store for a day to a group, it's hard to clear 3 million won," adding, "The price is absurdly high."
◇Overseas it's in the tens of thousands of won per month… prices should be made realistic
The public screening right system is hard to find in other pro sports. Among the four major pro sports leagues, soccer (K League), basketball (KBL), and volleyball (KOVO) do not have separate public screening right systems. Restaurants and other venues can put on broadcasts without a separate expense.
It also contrasts with overseas pro baseball. Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan do not sell public screening rights directly as leagues. Instead, platform operators such as DIRECTV or DAZN provide commercial broadcast services. In Korea's terms, that means an OTT operator like Tving, not the KBO, distributes public screening rights.
In MLB's case, commercial broadcast service prices start at $120 to $150 per month (about 180,000 to 225,800 won). NPB likewise allows stores to put on pro baseball broadcasts by paying only 10,000 to 20,000 yen per month (about 94,300 to 188,600 won), depending on store size and users.
By contrast, if the KBO regular-season broadcast right fee (110 million won) is divided by an estimated seven months, it is 15.71 million won per month. That is roughly 80 times more expensive than the monthly broadcast right expense in the United States and Japan.
On the ground, people note a wide gap between the rules and reality. Some stores, such as sports pubs, are putting on broadcasts through IPTV, but there is no enforcement, leaving questions about effectiveness.
Self-employed people are of one voice that "if it's a rule that no one follows, it should be abolished or adjusted to fit reality." A hof owner in Dongjak District said, "I would rather have realistic price standards so we can pay an expense and put it on legally."