Engaging Millennials & Gen-Zs with Short-form Contents
Trend Hunter | KBO Pro Baseball Evolves into a Cultural Phenomenon
Professional baseball is a long-form sport, with games averaging over three hours. To engage short-form-savvy Gen-Zs and millennials, KBO is turning the game into bite-sized content that fans can enjoy in everyday life.
Millennials and Gen-Zs prefer highlights over full games
Millennials and Gen-Zs prefer short, snappy content over long-form. They are used to watching recaps, highlights, and quick summaries on various platforms like YouTube and TikTok. This media consumption behavior clearly shows in how fans watch sports as well. According to Korea Gallup, more than half of those who follow professional baseball games through video content watch only short-form or highlight clips, rather than full games. This trend is even clearer among new fans who’ve recently started following professional baseball. A KBO survey shows that while only 60% of new fans have watched games at the stadium, a much higher 91.3% have consumed some form of baseball content. This illustrates that for the short-form-loving millennials and Gen-Zs, simply just watching highlights can be enough to spark their interest and turn them into fans.
Unlocking the gate to create more short-form contents
As media consumption habits evolve, KBO has taken proactive steps to adapt. In 2024, it selected TVING as its new media broadcast partner and, for the first time, authorized the production and distribution of short-form videos under 40 seconds. KBO has long been a stringent copyright enforcer—often dubbed as “GIF-image police” by fans. It is now embracing new approach to draw in younger fans. Fans are now free to create and share game clips and GIF images—marking a shift that’s turning pro baseball sport into a form of everyday content. In partnership with short-form platform Naver Clip, KBO has also launched the In-stadium Challenge, inviting spectators at the stadium to become content creators. From game footage and live reactions to stadium mukbang (videos featuring a person indulging in large meals on camera), fans have uploaded nearly 13,000 short-form videos to date. These clips enrich fans’ baseball experience, helping spectators relive the thrill of the game and acting as an alternative streaming channel for those watching from home.
