Baseball Ratings: The Average MLB Viewership Per Game
By
Will Brown
Contributor Updated: 09 December 2024
Will Brown Contributor
William Brown is a Content Writer with strong expertise in US and global gambling industry trends. Having covered the local sports betting market since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, William approaches his gambling guides with passion and diligence. He is a keen player of online slots, blackjack, and a regular sports bettor.
How Many Viewers Does MLB Have
The world of sports viewership is dynamic, ever-changing, and often, directly linked to social trends and shifts. In this article, we’ve looked at the current average MLB viewership per game, and where this stands in the context of history. By analyzing these figures, we can look to what the future holds for the sport of baseball, as well as how the league is working to attract more fans to the game.
Intro to the Baseball Viewership Figures
To begin this guide, we’ve got straight into discussing the MLB average viewership for games in 2024. From there, we’ve looked at whether this represents a decline in audience attention, and how this compares to previous years. We’ve also explored the phenomenon of viewership fluctuations.
From there, we’ve discussed how the demographics of MLB viewers are changing, both in the USA and around the world. To round out this article, we’ve explored how MLB is adapting to the modern digital entertainment environment, cementing its future in the years to come.
- The Current MLB Average Viewership
- The Decline of MLB Viewership
- Peak Years of MLB Viewership
- Reasons Behind MLB Viewership Fluctuations
- Changing Demographics of MLB Viewers
- Digital Era: MLB’s Response to Changing Trends
The Current MLB Average Viewership
After years of stagnating attendance, the 2024 regular season marked a significant turnaround in MLB viewership and attendance. Stadium attendance rose to 71.35 million, with a notable increase in younger ticket buyers. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball also enjoyed its most-watched season since 2019, averaging 1.5 million viewers.
Fox’s baseball broadcast also attracted steady viewership, with an average of 1.9 million viewers during the first 11 games. One of the biggest surges was seen in streaming, with MLB.TV recording 14.5 billion minutes. This represented a 14% increase from the previous year. The positive uptick has been attributed to rule changes that have sped up gameplay and popular emerging young talent.
MLB’s Declining Viewership Period
For the last seven years, MLB’s viewership steadily declined. Much of this was put down to the fact that traditional television was steadily losing viewers to online streaming. The digital age has completely changed how fans interact with sports, disrupting conventional ways of measuring viewership.
For example, younger fans are far more likely to engage with MLB content via social media or live streams, which, in turn, means conventional methods of tracking viewership levels are ineffective. These worrying figures required the MLB to do some soul-searching to prevent its demise.
The MLB faced criticism over the length of games and the slow pace compared to other sports. In a world where attention spans are shortened, this has led to some finding the game boring – and it’s also one of the reasons why younger generations appear less inclined to watch the MLB than their older counterparts.
It’s clear already that the changes to speed up games have been effective in boosting baseball viewership, as has its investment in digital infrastructure. The sport also benefits from the surge in live betting on the MLB, with sportsbooks such as BetMGM supporting streams of games while wagering.
Peak Years of MLB Viewership
According to MLB viewership statistics, the league’s peak years were during the late 90s and early 2000s. Considered to be a golden age for baseball, the era was marked by standout star players, fierce competition, and fantastic last-minute comebacks. The rise of players such as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds increased interest in the sport, and viewership levels grew steadily during this time.
Interestingly, the viewership boom began during the 1998 home run chase after a prolonged period of declining ratings. Considered to be among the best MLB seasons ever, the competition between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to break the single-season home run record took the US by storm. Any game involving the two players sold out instantly and attracted huge viewership figures.
People also tuned in to watch the success of big-market teams, most notably the New York Yankees. This was aided by the fact that the teams were in densely populated areas, helping to attract audiences and viewers. With the recent uptick in average MLB viewership per game, we may be in the midst of another boom.
Reasons Behind MLB Viewership Fluctuations
There are numerous reasons for the fluctuations in MLB viewership. Whether there’s a star player currently in the league, team performances, and societal trends all play significant roles in determining how many viewers an MLB match gets. The importance of a game will also affect the number of viewers – MLB Finals attract more viewers than midseason games, for example.
Star players often draw in the most viewers. Viewers flock to witness iconic moments and standout performances, especially if they’re playing for storied teams. If there are no players with an air of greatness, viewers are much more likely to turn away in favor of other leagues like the NBA.
Teams located in larger markets tend to pull in larger audiences. For example, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have consistently high viewership due to their market size and historic success. Societal trends are also worth considering, with viewing habits changing from generation to generation.
Changing Demographics of MLB Viewers
In recent years, MLB resonated more with older viewers, with a median viewer age that is higher than other major sports. This older demographic, which wasn’t brought up on social media, could embrace the slower pace and longer duration of baseball games. This, however, put the game at odds with younger fans.
However, MLB is not standing still in the face of these demographic shifts. To boost baseball viewership among younger fans, the league implemented pace-of-play rules to shorten game lengths. It also leveraged social media and digital viewing platforms to attract younger generations.
This has resulted in viewership in the 18 to 34 category surging 12 percent on ESPN, 24 percent on FS1, and nine percent on Fox. Average MLB viewership per game. The percentage of ticket buyers for live games in the 18 to 35 demographic has also increased by 8.5 percent since 2019.
On MLB.TV, MLV average viewership for Gen Zers is up 11 percent, while the average age of the platform’s viewers has dropped from 48 to 44. This news has been welcomed by the league, and their approach has breathed new life into the game.
Global Viewership Trends
While the MLB’s audience is primarily American, the sport has been growing in global appeal. The 2024 season saw global viewership increase by 18 percent since the last season. Much of this was in Asia, with a staggering 32 percent growth year-over-year. Latin America too saw rising views, up 16 percent from the previous year.
This was helped by the fact that the league played regular season games in Korea, Mexico City, and London. The sports recruitment of Shohei Ohtani, Shota Imanaga, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto also generated its fourth-straight viewership gain in Japan, with an average audience of nearly 2.2 million viewers.
Digital Era: MLB’s Response to Changing Trends
The creation of the online world has drastically changed the market for all major sports, and the MLB has expertly embraced it to leverage an increase in average MLB viewership per game. With the rise of digital platforms, more viewers prefer to stream games through online services. For some time, this made it harder to track viewership numbers, but the metrics have recently changed.
The MLB’s creation of the MLB.TV streaming service ensured fans could watch live games from any device. Additionally, MLB has a strong presence on social media platforms, posting regular updates on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. With recent studies showing young viewers prefer to watch edited game highlights rather than full games, it has also produced more short-form content.
Rather than succumb to the challenges that digital entertainment seemed to create for the league, the MLB found unique opportunities to drive baseball viewership growth. The sport’s rich history and the depth of its game can be pushed out to more people than ever before, with international licensing details helping to expand the league’s popularity globally.
