A mud fight has begun. It is a conflict between the broadcasting station and the production company surrounding the popular JTBC entertainment series ‘Strongest Baseball’. What is shocking is that the production company is an affiliate of the broadcasting station JTBC, which holds a portion of the shares, which is why it is a disaster.

PD Jang Si-won previously took issue with JTBC‘s unfair measures surrounding the ‘Strongest Baseball’ series through his Instagram account. However, JTBC remained silent for a while. Then, on the 11th, he suddenly released a lengthy statement. It was a lengthy statement pointing out the problems of Studio C1, the production company and affiliate of ‘Strongest Baseball’. Then Studio C1 also released a statement. It partially refuted JTBC’s claims and raised complaints about some of the profit distribution.

In the end, it comes down to ‘money’. The key is what contracts were established, fulfilled, and breached between the two parties. However, neither party disclosed the production contract or the production cost breakdown according to the progress. JTBC said that there was only an overcharge for production costs and that they did not receive any supporting documents. Studio C1 said that ‘overcharge’ cannot exist structurally.

The statement is unnecessarily long, but what they ultimately want to talk about is money-related issues. This is something that can be confirmed with the production contract and specifications, so is there a need to just keep repeating the same thing? If you feel that wronged, you can go to court and argue over the pros and cons. It doesn‘t seem like an issue that requires talking about complicated issues on Instagram, issuing long statements, and refuting each other. It’s wrong to expect teamwork from a program that is already marred by discord. The viewers will already be waiting for the active KBO that will be more ‘fun’ than ‘Strongest Baseball’.


● Below is the full text of the official position of Studio C1 and PD Jang Si-won regarding ‘Strongest Baseball’

Studio C1‘s position on JTBC’s position on “The production company of ‘Strongest Baseball’ has damaged trust by overcharging billions of won”

I‘m a little late today because I had a PT at the Gocheok Sky Dome. Here is our position on JTBC’s statement.

On March 11, JTBC, through a statement regarding the new season of ‘Strongest Baseball’, stated the following as grounds for damage to trust in Studio Siwon (C1): ① the production cost of Strongest Baseball was determined based on the production cost for filming one game, but by producing one game in two parts, it appears that the production cost was double-billed; and ② they requested details of the execution of the production cost and supporting evidence in order to confirm whether the production cost was used for other purposes or processed as additional profits for C1, but they did not receive them.

However, this is not only a serious distortion of the facts themselves, but also an unacceptable defamatory suspicion against C1 and PD Jang Si-won.

First, JTBC also generates advertising revenue for each part by dividing one game into two parts and airing them. It is difficult to understand the intention behind JTBC receiving advertising revenue per part while C1 should receive production costs for each game. It‘s a typical example of a hypocrite who takes over the other person. It’s also fundamentally against common sense that the production cost for a broadcast program should be allocated by game, not by the number of episodes.

Second, the production contract between C1 and JTBC does not require post-bill or actual cost settlement of production costs, so ‘excessive billing’ cannot exist structurally. The production cost is determined based on the total amount through prior consultation for each season, and C1 has been handling additional costs for situations that were not considered when determining the production cost, such as additional filming or cancellation, at its own expense. JTBC has never settled these additional costs, and C1 did not request them. This is because it is in accordance with the contract structure between an independent production company and a broadcasting company. For example, during the production cost negotiation process for Season 3 (2024), JTBC requested a total discount, and agreed on the production cost by excluding all amounts, such as the directing fee of PD Jang Si-won, who is a key directing fee for the production cost of Strongest Baseball, so it was decided to be a turn-key contract. However, this groundless statement of position is not only completely different from the existing production contract, but is also an absurd claim that overturns the practices and principles of the Korean broadcasting production industry.

Third, JTBC has not distributed profits from the direct viewing profits and related sales of Strongest Baseball for two years, and is refusing to even provide information on the total amount of profits generated to JTBC in Season 3 (2024). In the production contract for each season, it was agreed that the business profits could be distributed through mutual consultation for ‘additional businesses requiring additional cooperation from C1’, and profit distribution was also carried out in the first season (2022), but as the size of the direct viewing profits increased thereafter, JTBC is refusing to settle the account on the grounds that the distribution ratio is not explicitly stipulated in the production contract. Direct viewing events are not simple additional revenue activities such as retransmission or commercialization of existing filmed materials. This is an event that can only be held through the planning and execution of C1 personnel, and during the event preparation process, JTBC has been pushing forward with an intuitive event by verbally promising to distribute the profits. This is a typical example of exploiting an outsourced production company through changing its words. In addition, JTBC has consistently maintained an absurd one-sided position of “since the ratio is not specified in writing, we have different opinions on the settlement obligation”, thereby interfering with the profit-making activities and settlement of C1, an independent corporation, and as a result, it is presumed that JTBC is understating related expenses and liabilities in its own financial statements. It is questionable whether such an act is possible for a company that discloses an external audit report.

Fourth, since C1 was established on February 25, 2022, it has provided all requested financial information based on the External Audit Act for the external audit of JTBC until the end of 2024. In addition, in order to prepare JTBC‘s financial statements, we also received a comprehensive review and confirmation of C1’s past financial statements, operating status, and business plan for the next five years through an external accounting firm (KPMG Samjeong Accounting Corporation) designated by JTBC until the end of 2023. During that process, no issues like the one in the statement distributed today were raised at all. Nevertheless, JTBC recently unilaterally notified us of its own production plan for The Strongest Baseball and began secretly contacting key staff members such as the main cast, PD, cinematographer, and writer, telling them, “Do not cooperate with the filming of The Strongest Baseball,” and then suddenly made demands that were absolutely unacceptable as a company, such as, “Provide us with contracts with channels other than JTBC, and submit all accounting books and supporting documents,” and are claiming damage to trust on the grounds that we are not complying with these demands. C1 believes that this is a planned move by JTBC to rob the intangible assets, including the network, copyrights, and filming and editing know-how built on trust with the manager and players regarding “Strongest Baseball,” and has secured considerable evidence of this.

Fifth, C1 is not an internal division of JTBC, but an independent stock company in which PD Jang Si-won owns 80% of the issued stock. JTBC’s argument is understood to mean that C1 should not make operating profits from the production costs it received from JTBC, but C1 is neither a subsidiary of JTBC nor a non-profit corporation, but a separate, independent stock company. If JTBC had intended to enter into a production contract with such an actual cost settlement structure, it should have set an unlimited budget in advance and set the transaction terms to go through a post-settlement procedure. If not, it would be common sense to think that it is not a matter that requires issuing a press release at the level of raising trite and tedious suspicions, rather than holding accountable the internal personnel who signed such a contract and, if there are legal issues in the process, filing a lawsuit to demand a refund of the production cost in accordance with the contract.

Sixth, C1‘s operating profit constitutes surplus profit to be distributed according to the shareholders’ percentage of equity, and accordingly, JTBC, a 20% shareholder of C1, is structured to recover part of the profits (expenses for JTBC) generated under the production contract. In fact, although C1 has accumulated considerable distributable profits since its establishment, it has not yet paid out a single won in dividends, taking into account the fact that JTBC‘s percentage of equity is only 20%. In this way, C1 sought to respect JTBC’s position as a partner based on the principle of good faith in all aspects.

Despite these circumstances, JTBC obstructed C1’s production activities with the sole purpose of seizing the intellectual property rights to Strongest Baseball, and ultimately raised suspicions of ‘excessive charging or misappropriation of production costs’ through today’s press release without any basis. I believe that the viewers and fans will fully understand without me having to explain at length the background of these claims.

Strongest Baseball belongs to the viewers and fans.

Thank you. C1


● The following is the full text of JTBC’s official position regarding ‘Strongest Baseball’

We will tell you about the progress of the new season of JTBC‘s ‘Strongest Baseball’.

JTBC is reporting on the progress in order to resolve the growing confusion among cast members and viewers regarding the new season of ‘Strongest Baseball’ and to correct some misunderstandings that JTBC is taking unfair measures.

JTBC has been discussing the progress of the new season with Studio C1 (hereinafter ‘C1’), which was in charge of producing ‘Strongest Baseball’ Season 3, but decided not to produce the new season of ‘Strongest Baseball’ with C1 after judging that the mutual trust relationship has been seriously damaged and that it is difficult to restore it.

JTBC stated that C1 spent hundreds of millions to tens of billions of won on production costs for the three seasons of ‘Strongest Baseball’. It is presumed that they overcharged.

When signing the contract for ‘Strongest Baseball’, C1 set the production cost per episode based on the production cost of filming one game. However, even when C1 split one game into two parts and produced it, it charged the production cost for two episodes, including the production cost that was not actually spent, as before. It appears that C1 double-charged the production cost through this method.

Accordingly, JTBC requested C1 to provide details of the execution of the production cost and supporting documents in order to confirm whether the production cost paid to C1 was properly used for the ‘Strongest Baseball’ program, cast, and staff, or whether it was used for other purposes or processed as additional profits for C1, but C1 is not disclosing the relevant data without a justifiable reason. C1 is an affiliate in which JTBC holds shares, and JTBC is the owner of the ‘Strongest Baseball’ IP and the business entity that invested all of the production cost. It is usually incomprehensible not to disclose the details of cost execution in a contract between businesses, and it is only right that JTBC transparently disclose that it did not use the production cost it paid for other purposes, but C1 is ignoring this.

This must have stemmed from their judgment that even if they ignore JTBC’s request, JTBC has no choice but to pay the production cost demanded by C1 and continue broadcasting in order to keep their promise to the viewers.

C1‘s actions can only be seen as unfair measures that take advantage of their superior position by using the viewers as bait. In the end, JTBC ended Season 3 while enduring C1’s actions.

However, after the end of the 2024 season, they decided that they could no longer continue their partnership with C1, who did not respond to JTBC‘s legitimate requests. This decision was made because we could not confirm or be certain whether the production cost was being used to make ‘Strongest Baseball’ a better program, or whether it was being used properly for the ‘Strongest Monsters’ players and staff.

Since JTBC notified C1 of a production staff change on February 10, C1 can no longer be involved in the production of ‘Strongest Baseball’. Furthermore, since JTBC holds all copyrights to ‘Strongest Baseball’, C1 cannot independently produce ‘Strongest Baseball’ Season 4. Despite this, C1 attempted to proceed with the tryouts. In response, JTBC announced the cancellation of the tryouts in order to prevent innocent victims such as ordinary participants, cast members, and staff members from being created during filming that was not guaranteed to be broadcast. However, C1 pushed ahead with the tryout, and as the confusion between the cast and viewers continued, we are hereby stating our position.

We are deeply sorry for causing concern to everyone who has been waiting for ‘Strongest Baseball’ due to unavoidable circumstances. JTBC always puts its promise to viewers first, and we will return with a newer and more entertaining fourth season of ‘Strongest Baseball’.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter, projecthong@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.