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The 2025 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) professional baseball season, already a historic success with a record-breaking 12 million regular-season spectators, carried its immense momentum into the postseason, captivating fans both in stadiums and at home. This year's "Autumn Baseball" delivered unprecedented levels of engagement, setting new records for both gate attendance and television viewership.
The postseason witnessed a remarkable turnout at the ballparks. All 16 games were completely sold out, drawing a total of 335,080 fans to the stadiums. Those unable to secure tickets tuned in via television, pushing viewership figures to historic highs.
According to data released by the KBO, based on Nielsen Media research, the average number of viewers per postseason game this year was 1,679,566, marking a 28.3% increase from the previous year's average of 1,308,785. The total cumulative viewership for the entire postseason reached a staggering 26,873,049, the highest recorded number since official tabulation began in 2020. This indicates that a significant portion of the South Korean population watched the thrilling series unfold.
While the average viewership typically increased with each round—from the Wild Card Game (4.24%) and Semi-Playoffs (4.89%) to the Playoffs (7.74%) and the Korean Series (8.69%)—the single-game peak was achieved not in the championship final, but during the nail-biting Playoff Game 5.
The decisive match between the Hanwha Eagles and the Samsung Lions, which determined the second Korean Series contender, drew the highest single-game audience. This intense contest, held on October 24, attracted 2,545,807 viewers and recorded a 10.26% viewership rating, the maximum for the 2025 postseason.
The second-most-watched game was Game 4 of the Korean Series, where the LG Twins staged a dramatic comeback against the Hanwha Eagles, scoring six runs in the top of the ninth inning after trailing 1-4. This spectacular rally was watched by 2,447,295 people, achieving a 10.04% rating. In total, six postseason games surpassed the 2 million viewer mark, underscoring the high-stakes drama and fan interest.
In a post-season celebration, LG Twins' Kim Hyun-soo was honored as the 2025 Korean Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was presented with a Rolex watch by LG team owner Koo Kwang-mo. This tradition of awarding a Rolex to the MVP was established by the late former owner, Koo Bon-moo, symbolizing the enduring passion and love for the baseball club, a tradition the current owner intends to maintain.
Despite the massive domestic success, the cumulative audience for the entire KBO Postseason still fell short of the global reach of a single marquee event in Major League Baseball (MLB). According to the MLB office, Game 7 of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, a classic extra-inning battle that concluded with a Dodgers victory, was watched by a total of 51 million people across the United States, Canada, and Japan. While the KBO's remarkable performance reflects the soaring popularity of the sport in South Korea, it highlights the immense scale of international baseball viewership achieved by the MLB's premier event.
The 2025 KBO season, from the regular season attendance record to the unprecedented postseason viewership, unequivocally confirms professional baseball's status as the nation's most beloved sport.
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