Tving, the South Korean streaming service owned by entertainment company CJ ENM, will provide live coverage for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) national teams competition after securing exclusive rights in the country.
Under the deal, Tving will air all 47 games live from next year’s tournament, which will feature 20 teams competing in four first-round pools in Tokyo (Japan), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and US cities Houston and Miami.
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The tournament will start in Tokyo on March 4 and end with the final at Miami’s LoanDepot Park on March 17.
In a statement, CJ ENM said: “Our acquisition of the broadcasting rights for a major global sporting event signals a full-scale expansion of our strategic portfolio in sports content.
“Our acquisition of the broadcasting rights for a major global sporting event signals a full-scale expansion of our strategic portfolio in sports content.”
The new rights add to Tving’s baseball coverage, which includes rights to the domestic top-tier KBO League.
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By GlobalDataOwned by North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB), via World Baseball Classic Inc., and operated alongside the MLB Players Association union, the tournament sees national teams compete against each other in a similar format to soccer’s FIFA World Cup.
Established in 2006 and now in its sixth season, the last edition in 2023 was won by Team Japan, led by LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. Korea finished third in the inaugural 2006 tournament and was runner-up in 2009.
Korea has already announced its first training camp roster for the tournament, featuring veteran players like Ryu Hyun-jin and Noh Kyung-eun and younger talents such as Ahn Hyun-min, Kim Do-young, Moon Dong-ju, and Jeong Woo-joo.
Ahead of the main WBC event, the team will face Japan’s Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes in official warm-up games on March 2 and 3.
US rights to the tournament are held by media giant Fox, which has secured both English and Spanish-language rights earlier this year. Fox’s deal covers all 47 games, with Fox itself airing seven fixtures, including three Pool B games featuring a US team, two quarter-final games, and the final.
The remaining games will air on sports channels FS1 and FS2, as well as being streamed on the Fox Sports app, Fox One, and Tubi services. The Fox Deportes service, meanwhile, will broadcast 28 games in Spanish, including the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.
Rights in Japan have been snapped up by global streaming giant Netflix, which will exclusively air all matches.
It will be Netflix’s first live sports event in Japan, with the streamer promising comprehensive coverage of the tournament after the previous edition saw six of the seven Team Japan games deliver over 30 million viewers in the country for broadcaster TV Asahi.
