KBS sells out all advertising for South Korea's World Cup opener, earning 6 billion won

South Korean broadcaster KBS has successfully sold out all advertising slots for the upcoming 2026 North American World Cup group stage match between South Korea and the Czech Republic. The game, scheduled for June 12 (KST), is the first match for the South Korean national team.

Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO), which handles advertising sales for terrestrial broadcasters, announced that approximately 6 billion won worth of advertising slots preceding and following the live broadcast were sold out. Additionally, 3.4 billion won worth of virtual advertising slots were also sold out early. This success is attributed to KBS being the sole terrestrial broadcaster covering the World Cup.

KBS secured the broadcasting rights from JTBC for 14 billion won just 50 days before the tournament began, a departure from the usual practice of securing rights months in advance. The advertisers include companies from traditional key sectors like automotive, finance, food and beverage, electronics, and consumer goods. Notably, luxury and health management sectors, which typically have a smaller presence in terrestrial sports advertising, also participated significantly.

KOBACO stated that the total sales target, which was set to exceed KBS's investment of approximately 14 billion won in the broadcasting rights, has already been surpassed. The final total sales figure will be calculated after the tournament concludes.