KBO Fan Craze Reaches 10 Million…A Baseball Drama Is on the Way Featuring Kim Woo-bin, Han Hyo-joo, and More

For the first time ever, 'KBO League' surpassing 10 million spectators sparked a massive 'baseball drama' craze in the broadcast world. 'Stove League' is followed by a string of works aiming to capture the explosive power of the sports genre proven by 'Han Hyo-joo'·Gong Myung starring 'Your Ground', 'Kim Woo-bin' starring 'Gift', and 'Kim Rae-won' starring 'Full Count'—hitting the spotlight one after another. With the strong buzz of the 2030 female fandom and the low entry barrier of global OTT, these major productions, beyond a simple win-lose narrative, shine a light on the intense undercurrents of the front office and coaching staff. The focus is on what work will be able to create a second 'Stove League' legend—one that goes beyond the emotion of sports with no script.

◇ MBC·SBS·tvN lined up one after another…Baseball becomes a 'secret weapon' for the home TV market

MBC, SBS, and tvN, representing terrestrial and cable channels, present baseball dramas with distinct charms. The genres are just as diverse, from romance to humanism.

MBC has confirmed this year’s lineup for the youth romance 'Your Ground' starring Han Hyo-joo and Gong Myung. It depicts the process of an ace pitcher (Gong Myung), who has been in rehabilitation for two years, meeting a sports agent turned lawyer (Han Hyo-joo) and finding his way back. Because it tackles the world of sports agents, it has been generating expectations as the baseball version of the masterpiece film 'Jerry Maguire.'

tvN is making its move with the 'Gift' starring Kim Woo-bin. Based on the popular webtoon of the same name, the story follows a professional team coach (Kim Woo-bin), who gains special abilities after an unexpected accident, as he is appointed as the high school baseball team manager at a school facing dissolution, leading to a heartwarming tale. Aiming for broadcast next year, filming has already begun.

SBS is preparing for a 2027 broadcast target with the 'Full Count' starring Kim Rae-won. It will spotlight the competitive world of fierce pro baseball coaching staff, with Kim Rae-won expected to take on the role of the interim manager and deliver a weighty performance.

◇ 'Seize the 2030 female fandom'…Global OTT entry barriers are also lower

The biggest reason the broadcasting industry is paying attention to baseball dramas is that the '2030 female viewer segment' that drives buzz aligns precisely with pro baseball’s core consumption audience. In fact, among those who made online reservations for last year’s pro baseball regular season, people in their 2030s accounted for about 60%, and within that group, the share of women was overwhelmingly high.

Baseball’s uniquely dramatic elements also work in favor of turning it into drama. Because each inning’s offense-defense exchanges are clear, it’s well-suited to portraying subtle changes in characters’ psychology. And baseball rules are universally understood around the world, which lowers the entry barrier for global OTT viewers—another major attraction.

◇ Will it recreate the glory of 'Stove League'…Overcoming a predictable story is the key

That said, success in sports dramas is never easy. Apart from a handful of well-made works from the past, such as SBS’s 'Stove League' and MBC’s 'Last Bet,' there have been far more cases that failed at the box office. That’s because it’s hard to jump beyond the thrill of real sports, often called 'a drama with no script,' using an artificial screenplay.

Experts agree that for a baseball drama to succeed, it needs to go beyond a simple win-lose narrative and uncover new stories from the baseball world that the general public hasn’t known. So the key question now is whether a second 'Stove League' can be born—one that carries the burning energy of 10 million spectators straight into living rooms—and attention is focused on the broadcast industry’s next moves.