An angle that even MLB was impressed by… This is how the broadcast of the opening game at Gocheok Dome was created

The number of app users for Coupang Play, which broadcasted the ‘MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024’, the opening game of the American professional baseball major league held in Seoul last month, reached an all-time high. Last month, the number of users was 8.3 million (Wise App, Retail, and Goods count), making the gap with Netflix the lowest ever (2.95 million).

A rare large-scale event attended by world-class players such as Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Coupang Play produced broadcast screens for all six games and broadcast them to the world. Various techniques, such as ‘Empire Cam’, which was introduced for the first time in Korea from the referee’s perspective, and ‘4D Replay’, which rotates 360 degrees of Mookie Betts’ swing trajectory and sliding scenes, were praised as ‘high quality broadcasting’. MLB also posted on its official social media, “This 4D camera angle is ridiculous.”

It is unusual for an OTT, rather than a local broadcaster or production company, to take charge of production. 15 members of Coupang Play’s ‘sports team’, including PD Ahn Young-gyun (38) and Lee Yun-seok (34), prepared for six months. The faces of the two people I met recently were red from on-site broadcasting. Producer Ahn said, “When I first explained the production plan to MLB, they said, ‘Do whatever you want.’”

The two are former sports channel PDs and have broadcasting experience in MLB, WBC, and the Olympics. It is said that they tried to add something new that had not been seen in existing broadcasts. PD Lee said, “I thought we needed to deliver at least one new viewing experience on the OTT platform.” While mobilizing the largest number of cameras in the history of domestic baseball broadcasting, and providing various behind-the-scenes photos from the moment the players arrived, baseball fans called it “God Pang.”

There were also moments of crisis. The ‘Umpire Cam’ attached to the referee’s mask was broken from the first game. PD Lee said, “This happened when the ball hit the referee squarely in the face,” and “I heard that it seemed unusable, but by communicating with a Canadian camera company, we were able to repair it and use it again.”

As OTTs have recently entered sports broadcasting as a new source of entertainment, competition is expected to become more intense. Coupang Play has been making various attempts since two years ago, including broadcasting all K-League games, overseas soccer leagues, F1, NFL, and Masters tournaments. This summer, Bayern Munich, where Kim Min-jae plays, will be invited to a game. PD Ahn said, “It is most rewarding to contribute to creating a culture of enjoying sports,” and “I remember one viewer’s review of the Seoul series, saying, ‘It was like a midsummer night’s dream.’ “I want to continue to provide those experiences,” he said.