ESPN to broadcast live baseball games from Korea

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 21: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Chung Soo-bin of Doosan Bears bats during the preseason game between LG Twins and Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on April 21, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) open a preseason games Tuesday, with its 10 clubs scheduled to play four games each through April 27. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Tuesday that the 2020 regular season, postponed from its March 28 start date due to the coronavirus outbreak, will begin May 5. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** Credit: Getty Images/Chung Sung-Jun
ESPN will begin televising live Twins baseball games this week!
No, not those Twins.
Instead, the network announced an agreement on Monday to carry Korean Baseball Organization games from South Korea beginning early Tuesday morning Eastern time, adding precious live sports programming.
The deal with Eclat Media Group, which owns KBO’s international rights, will involve six live regular-season games each week, starting with an Opening Day game between the NC Dinos and Samsung Lions at 1 a.m. Tuesday.
The first game that will feature the LG Twins will be against the defending champion Doosan Bears and will be televised at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
One game will be shown per day, Tuesdays through Sundays, generally on ESPN2. (The opener will air on ESPN.) The telecasts generally are scheduled for Tuesdays through Fridays at 5:30 a.m., Saturdays at 4 a.m. and Sundays at 1 a.m.
ESPN, like all sports channels, has been starved for live content during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Major League Baseball is far from beginning its season, KBO has been ahead of the curve in starting play, in part owing to South Korea’s containment of the virus. No fans will be permitted into the ballparks, though.
So ESPN will be the exclusive English-language home for KBO games and highlights, including the postseason, which ends with the best-of-seven Korean Series.
“We have a longstanding history of documenting the game of baseball and we’re excited to deliver these live events to sports fans,” Burke Magnus, ESPN’s executive vice president of programming, said in a news release.
Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez will call the first three games from their homes. Jon Sciambi, Jessica Mendoza and Kyle Peterson will do so later this week.
KBO commissioner Un-Chan Chung said in a news release, “The KBO league is one of the greatest baseball leagues with world-class players and many exciting initiatives.
“During this unprecedented and difficult time, I hope the KBO League can bring consolation to the communities and provide guidelines to the world of sports. I am pleased that the KBO League can be introduced globally and hope this can be an opportunity for the development of our league and the sport.”
ESPN plans to show highlights from KBO League games beyond those it televises live.
This week’s broadcast schedule of KBO games on ESPN. The opener will air on ESPN and the rest of the games on ESPN2.
Date Time (ET) Game Commentators
Tuesday 1 a.m. NC Dinos vs. Samsung Lions (Opening Day) Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez
Wednesday 5:30 a.m. Doosan Bears vs. LG Twins Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez
Thursday 5:30 a.m. NC Dinos vs. Samsung Lions Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez
Friday 5:30 a.m. KIA Tigers vs. Samsung Lions Jon Sciambi, Kyle Peterson
Saturday 4 a.m. LG Twins vs. NC Dinos Jon Sciambi, Jessica Mendoza
Sunday 1 a.m. LG Twins vs. NC Dinos Jon Sciambi, Jessica Mendoza
More sports media



