[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] As the “2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games” kicked off, the combined viewership ratings for the opening ceremony broadcasts by the three major terrestrial TV networks remained in the 5% range. This figure is noticeably lower than that of the Hangzhou Games three years ago.

According to Nielsen Korea, a viewership ratings research firm, on the 20th, KBS1 recorded a 2.6% rating based on national households for its broadcast of the “2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games” opening ceremony the previous day, posting the highest viewership rating among the three terrestrial broadcasters.
MBC recorded 1.7% and SBS recorded 1.5%. The combined viewership ratings of the three broadcasters totaled 5.8%. Although KBS took first place, with all three broadcasters’ ratings falling below 3%, viewer interest in the opening ceremony appeared to be lower than in previous editions of the Games.
The difference is even more pronounced when compared to the opening ceremony of the previous tournament, the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. At that time, KBS recorded 5.9%, MBC 2.8%, and SBS 0.7%, bringing the combined total for the three terrestrial broadcasters to 9.4%—3.6 percentage points higher than this tournament’s 5.8%. This represents a decrease of approximately 38% on a simple aggregate basis.
However, there were differences in the broadcast conditions between the two events. During the Hangzhou Games, SBS did not broadcast the opening ceremony live but aired an 80-minute delayed broadcast after its regular programming ended. This differed from KBS and MBC, which scheduled 150 and 140 minutes of coverage, respectively. Nevertheless, the combined viewership ratings of KBS and MBC alone reached 8.7%, surpassing the 5.8% total viewership rating of the three terrestrial broadcasters for this tournament.
The opening ceremony took place on the 19th at Paloma Mizho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan. KBS’s broadcast was hosted by commentator Lee Jae-hoo, music director Kim Moon-jung, and entertainer Kangnam; MBC’s by commentator Kim Seong-ju and announcer Kim Cho-rong; and SBS’s by commentator Bae Seong-jae and announcer Ju Si-eun.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will run for 16 days until October 4. Forty-five National Olympic Committees and the Refugee Team are participating, competing in 43 sports. South Korea has sent 787 athletes to compete in 41 sports.