The World Baseball Softball Confederation has awarded broadcast rights in South Korea for its new Premier12 national team competition to media group SBS.
The Seoul-based company has acquired exclusive broadcasting rights for the 2015 Premier12 across all media platforms, including online and television.
The Premier12 is being hosted by Japan and Taiwan from November 8-21. Before heading to Taiwan for the official start of the group phase, rivals South Korea and Japan will meet in a special opening fixture on November 8 at the 40,000-seat Sapporo Dome. It will be the first time in six years that the two professional national teams have met.
Japan and South Korea have been drawn in Group B alongside the United States, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Mexico. The Premier12 will feature, for the first time ever, head-to-head action between the professional national teams of the top 12 countries in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings.
WBSC president Riccardo Fraccari said: “The SBS-WBSC partnership on Premier12 is another major milestone that highlights the appeal of this new flagship event – and national team competitions in our sport, in general – and further positions baseball's growth and stronghold in this key market.”