Virus Outbreak: English-language CPBL broadcasts a ray of hope for sports fans amid coronavirus

Staff writer, with CNA, LOS ANGELES





As the COVID-19 pandemic shutters sporting events around the world, English-language broadcasts of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) this week provided a lifeline to deprived sports fans, with veteran US sports commentator Keith Olbermann featuring among them.

The push to share Taiwanese baseball with a wider English-speaking audience has been led by the Eleven Sports network, the broadcaster for the Taoyuan-based Rakuten Monkeys, which has been streaming the games free of charge via its Twitter account since the season opened last weekend.

More than 1 million people on Friday tuned in to view its English-language broadcast, even though the game was played to empty stands in compliance with Taiwan’s social distancing guidelines, the network said.

The stands at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium are filled with mannequins and cardboard cutouts representing spectators during Friday’s Chinese Professional Baseball League game. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

However, the English-language broadcasts might not extend beyond today. Due to the costs involved in producing them, the network has only guaranteed commentary for the five Rakuten Monkeys home games between Wednesday and today.

In an interview with Time magazine this week, a CPBL spokesperson said the league was unsure how long the broadcasts would continue.

Local media have reported that the league is in talks with international media groups to sell the broadcast rights, which could result in an extension.

In the meantime, many US fans have said that they are willing to wake up early if that is what it takes to watch a live baseball game.

“This is exactly what I needed... Announcers rock too,” read one tweet, while another asked: “ESPN, can we get this on TV?”

In an interview on Friday, Rakuten manager Tseng Hao-chu (曾豪駒) said that he was grateful for all the attention from abroad, which has given his club a chance to “show what we can do.”

While Taiwan’s success in responding to COVID-19 has given the CPBL a rare opportunity for international exposure, it remains to be seen whether the English-language broadcasts will be enough to retain a newfound fan base when baseball leagues in the US start playing again.