The popularity of professional volleyball is reviving. In particular, it was found that the women’s box office, led by Kim Yeon-kyung, was overwhelming the men’s.
The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) announced on its website on the 13th that “from the 2022-23 season, 100% spectator admission became possible, and the number of spectators for both men and women combined reached 561,445.” This is about 2.5% less than the 2018-19 season before the Corona 19 epidemic, and it is no different from fully recovering the number of spectators before the pandemic.
The reason why the number of spectators was able to recover in a short period of time was definitely thanks to the success of the women’s division. The women’s division recorded a viewership rating of 3.40% during the 5th game of the championship match between Heungkuk Life Insurance and Korea Expressway Corporation held at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on the 6th, breaking the record for the highest viewership rating in the V-League. The number of spectators that day was also 6,125, the highest this season. 바카라사이트
At the center of the box office success of the women’s division was ‘Volleyball Empress’ Kim Yeon-kyung. The number of spectators in the women’s division, which was below the men’s division until the 2019-20 season, reversed for the first time in the 2020-21 season when Kim Yeon-kyung returned to Korea. This season, when Kim Yeon-kyung completely returned to Korea, the number of spectators in the women’s division exceeded the men’s division by more than 130,000.
In particular, as of December of last year, the 1st to 5th places in the women’s division with the most spectators this season, as tallied by KOVO, are all home games of Heungkuk Life Insurance with Kim Yeon-kyung at the forefront, and it is the same as the season dominated by the ‘Kim Yeon-kyung effect’.
However, the widening gap in popularity with the men’s division is KOVO’s homework. Compared to the 2018-19 season, the number of spectators in the women’s division increased by about 38.3% this season, while the number of spectators in the men’s division decreased by about 34%. The average viewer rating is also 1.23% for women and 0.62% for men, leaving the men’s division nearly twice as far behind.
KOVO and 7 men’s clubs are striving to improve box office by changing the exterior of the stadium and providing player-friendly content. If a ‘big star’ is born at a good time or shows competitiveness in international competitions, it is expected to rebound.