SBS Ranks 1st in Ratings from Swimming New Record Gold Medal to Women's Volleyball Korea-Japan Match

From swimming finals to the women's volleyball Korea-Japan match, strong ratings in major events during the same time slots! 'Powerful SBS'

"Kim Young-beom, it is fully possible," Park Tae-hwan's prediction comes true! 'Monster Rookie' Kim Young-beom wins gold with an Asian Games new record!

From Kim Young-beom's gold medal to 4 bronze medals! SBS swimming broadcast opens up the medal race for South Korea with 5 medals in one day

"It is not too late! You can do it starting from now," commentator Han Song-yi cheers for South Korean women's volleyball!

Today (22nd) is also SBS! From the women's volleyball bronze medal match to men's baseball and football, live broadcasting of South Korea's medal and victory challenges!

SBS vividly delivered the intense medal challenges of South Korean athletes to homes by broadcasting the swimming freestyle finals and the women's volleyball semifinal between South Korea and Japan at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. In swimming, Kim Young-beom claimed the gold medal with an Asian Games new record, and in women's volleyball, South Korea showed fighting spirit until the end in a close match against Japan.

According to the rating research company Nielsen Korea on the 22nd, the swimming women's 200m individual medley final broadcast by SBS the previous day recorded 1.9% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 2.1% nationwide. The swimming men's 4x200m relay recorded 2.5% in both the Seoul metropolitan area and nationwide. In the 2049 ratings, a key advertising indicator, the swimming women's 200m individual medley final recorded 0.6% in both the Seoul metropolitan area and nationwide, and the swimming men's 4x200m relay recorded 1.0% in both the Seoul metropolitan area and nationwide, ranking 1st in the same time slot. The women's volleyball semifinal between South Korea and Japan also recorded a 3.3% rating in the Seoul metropolitan area, surpassing MBC (2.6%) and KBS (2.5%) to record the highest figure among the three terrestrial broadcasters. In the 2049 ratings, it also ranked 1st in the same time slot with 1.8% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 1.5% nationwide. With this, SBS continued its strong broadcasting presence during the Asian Games, ranking 1st in the same time slot for major events from swimming freestyle finals to the women's volleyball Korea-Japan match.

In the swimming freestyle finals, South Korean athletes stepped onto the podium one after another, contributing to the medal race. The brightest star was Kim Young-beom in the men's 50m freestyle. Kim Young-beom stood tall as Asia's strongest sprinter, winning the gold medal with an Asian Games new record of 21.66 seconds. In particular, commentator Park Tae-hwan predicted before the race, "If he conducts the race with the confidence shown in the preliminaries, it is fully possible." As if meeting commentator Park Tae-hwan's expectations, Kim Young-beom proved his amazing growth by conducting an overwhelming race. Defending champion Ji Yu-chan also won a bronze medal, with the two South Korean sprinters standing side-by-side on the podium.

In the women's 50m backstroke, Kim Seung-won won a bronze medal with 27.72 seconds, becoming the first medalist in the history of South Korea's women's 50m backstroke at the Asian Games, and in the men's 50m backstroke, Yoon Ji-hwan earned a bronze medal with 24.54 seconds. Commentator Park Tae-hwan analyzed the two athletes' races in detail, pointing out the characteristics of the 50m events. Additionally, in the men's 800m relay, Kim Jun-woo, Kim Woo-min, Lee Ho-joon, and Hwang Sun-woo combined to win a bronze medal. On this day, South Korean swimming added a total of 5 medals, achieving a rich medal harvest.

In women's volleyball, although South Korea lost to Japan with a set score of 0-3, they showed fighting spirit until the end by continuing a persistent pursuit in the 1st and 2nd sets. Regarding the players who maintained bright expressions even after the 1st and 2nd sets, caster Lee Jae-hyeong noted, "They have confidence, and it means they will supplement what didn't work in the 1st and 2nd sets and start again," and commentator Han Song-yi emphasized not only Kang So-hwi's scoring but also her contribution to the back-row receive and defense. Furthermore, she continued sharp commentary tailored to the flow of the game, analyzing that to shake Japan's receive line, "it is necessary to shake the opponent's receive line with strong serves."

In the 3rd set, South Korea continued its persistent pursuit. Commentator Han Song-yi gave strength to the players, saying, "You must never give up," and emphasized toward the end of the match that they must finish the match well without letting the atmosphere drop because "the tournament itself is not over yet." After finishing the semifinal against Japan, South Korea will challenge for a medal again in the following bronze medal match.

Meanwhile, on SBS today (22nd), the medal challenges of South Korean athletes and major matches will continue. At 4 PM, the women's volleyball bronze medal match between South Korea and Thailand will be broadcast live, at 6:30 PM, the men's baseball group stage match between South Korea and Hong Kong will be broadcast live, and at 7 PM, the men's football group stage match between South Korea and Saudi Arabia will be broadcast live.

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◆ At a Glance

· Issuing Institution: SBS

· Category: Asian Games

· Distribution: September 22, 10:18

Source: SBS Press Release

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