(Seoul = News1) Reporter Kim Minji – The decline of ‘Strongest Baseball’ is becoming remarkable. The new season that returned on the 22nd of last month has fallen into the 0% rating range just four episodes in, causing a shock.
According to Nielsen Korea on the 21st, the fourth episode of JTBC’s ‘Strongest Baseball’ 2025 season, which aired on the afternoon of the 20th, recorded a viewership rating of 0.827% (based on nationwide paid households). This is a drop of 0.180 percentage points compared to the third episode last week, which recorded 1.007%.
The painful part is that the 2025 season of ‘Strongest Baseball’ saw a continuous decline in ratings after the first episode aired on the 22nd of last month with a rating of 1.491%, and didn’t manage to maintain even the 1% range after just four episodes. Additionally, views on the official YouTube channel often do not exceed ‘10,000 views’.
The 2025 season of ‘Strongest Baseball’ was launched with a freshly composed team amid much interest. Lee Jong-beom, who was a coach for kt wiz at the time, was recruited as a manager, and Jang Sung-ho and Shim Soo-chang joined as coaches. Moreover, players who had notable performances in the KBO such as Kim Tae-kyun, Yoon Suk-min, Oh Ju-won, Na Ji-wan, and Lee Dae-hyung joined the team, attracting attention.
For the 2025 season, new rules that differ from the existing 1st to 3rd seasons were introduced. While the concept of retired baseball players competing against amateurs remained, this season, the ‘Strongest Cup Tournament’ was held, where they compete against the strongest high school, college, and independent league teams. The team named ‘Breakers’ must win this tournament to reclaim the name ‘Strongest Breakers’. Failing to rank within the top 3 would result in elimination.
Despite its impressive lineup and new rules, ‘Strongest Baseball’ 2025 season premiered ambitiously last month. Viewers also showed considerable interest in the gathering of ‘legendary’ players in ‘Strongest Baseball’. However, the reaction following the broadcast was underwhelming. The show, which began with a disappointing 1.491% rating for its first episode, aimed for a rebound, but episodes 2 and 3 saw slight declines. The fourth episode, which aired on the 20th, hit a 0.827% rating, struggling to escape the ‘0% rating range’. This is a lower performance than MBN’s ‘Back to the Ground’, which regrettably concluded in 2022 due to poor ratings, with its lowest rating being 1%.
Why is the highly anticipated new season of ‘Strongest Baseball’ underperforming? Viewers unanimously agree that the program itself has become less engaging.
Although ‘Strongest Baseball’ emphasizes ‘baseball matches’, it is also a variety show, yet viewers find it lacking in entertainment elements. During the early season, it is important to highlight the unique character of each player and build relationships and narratives, but ‘Strongest Baseball’ 2025 season seems to focus solely on the matches right from the start. While baseball fans might adapt quickly, the content is deemed as not welcoming to viewers unfamiliar with baseball. Furthermore, although cast members Jae Han-myeong and Jung Min-cheol are considered top-tier in professional baseball commentary, their broadcasting style remains too similar to actual games, making it somewhat dull as a variety show content. Overall, there seems to be a lack of ‘entertainment appeal’ in the content.
‘Strongest Baseball’, which aimed to create the best season targeting ‘baseball fans’, is facing a crisis as its critical 1% rating barrier has collapsed amid reviews calling it ‘boring baseball’. Moreover, its buzz is gradually diminishing. However, as there are still fans who believe the show will provide heartfelt emotions as it continues building its narratives throughout the episodes, attention is on whether they can address these shortcomings to overcome the crisis.