Choi Ga-on's dramatic victory at the 2026 Olympics was covered by major Korean broadcasters with just photos, as the video was not available until later.
Choi Ga-on, a 17-year-old athlete from South Korea, made history by winning the country's first gold medal in snowboarding at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Competing in the women’s halfpipe final in Livigno, Italy, she scored an impressive 90.25 points in her final run to clinch the victory despite having scored only 10 points in her first two runs due to a fall. This remarkable turnaround not only earned her the gold medal but also set a record for the youngest winner in the women's halfpipe category at just 17 years and 3 months old.
However, the broadcast coverage of her historic win raised several concerns regarding the handling of the broadcast rights and timely reporting. The three major Korean broadcasters—KBS, MBC, and SBS—failed to transmit the essential video footage of her victory promptly, instead resorting to sharing only photographs of the event. According to reports, JTBC, which has exclusive rights to Olympic footage, provided the related video to broadcasters only by 8 AM, hours after the event took place. This tardiness led to criticisms and discussions regarding the broadcast rights regulations that affected how Olympic events are reported in South Korea.
The strict regulations surrounding the use of Olympic footage stipulate that JTBC can only use the video footage in their regular programming and prohibit uploading on platforms like YouTube for fear of breaching broadcasting rights. As a result, once 24 hours pass after the event, other broadcasters will not be able to use the footage, effectively granting JTBC exclusive rights to use Choi Ga-on's gold medal moment. Such restrictions highlight the complexities and challenges faced by Korean broadcasters in reporting significant sports events.
