JTBC, the broadcasting channel of the JoongAng Media Network, "has won exclusive rights to broadcast the 2013 World Baseball Classic" in South Korea, according to Moon Gwang-lip of the KOREA JOONGANG DAILY. JTBC signed a contract with MP & Silva, the media rights agency for the WBC, to broadcast all 39 games of the tournament beginning in March, as well as two remaining qualifiers scheduled for next month. The contract states that JTBC has exclusive rights to broadcast the tournament on cable, satellite, terrestrial, IPTV, Internet and mobile platforms within the country (KOREA JOONGANG DAILY, 10/25). The MLB Network will televise all 39 games of the WBC and will also be the exclusive English-language telecast partner of the U.S. for the '17 tournament (MLB).
OUT WITH THE OLD: Meanwhile, in Seoul, Moon added the WBC has changed its tournament format "in a bid to become more int'l by dissolving regional groups and having teams compete" in stadiums around the world. The regional groups have been broken up, and a "new system similar to the FIFA World Cup will be implemented" (KOREA JOONGANG DAILY, 10/25).
