There’s been plenty of doom and gloom surrounding baseball the past few decades. How the sport is dying, ratings are down and that people just don’t care about America’s Pastime.
Monday, there was some news: Ratings are up.
According to a release from Major League Baseball’s communication department, MLB.tv has had its seven largest streaming days in the service’s 20-year history already this season. Going by minutes watched, it’s a 12% increase over the start of last year, and up 43% when compared to 2019.
Just imagine how good those ratings would be if it wasn’t for the blackout rules.
With close games, exciting star performances & 2 no-hitters to begin the season, https://t.co/pzZW56BhAE registered the most-watched 18-day period in its 20-season history, including the 7 most-watched days ever.
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) April 19, 2021
Fans have already watched over 1.34 billion minutes of live games. pic.twitter.com/0bWyoZp19C
It’s not just streaming, too. Live games on MLB Network are doing 12% better than the first 15 games last year, and 'Baseball Tonight' on ESPN has seen its ratings increase by one-third compared to last season’s average.
The league seems much more excited about the streaming numbers, though.
Some of that is due to the pandemic. Plenty of streaming records have been set over the last year. Some of it is because it’s just been a really good product so far. There have been two no-hitters, the Dodgers-Padres series somehow lived up to, if not exceeded, outlandish expectations, and fans have returned to the stands. The last point does create buzz and helps build that connection between a city and its team.
But let’s address the elephant in the room. Part of the reason for this ratings boost is because last year’s opening was botched. The players and owners had a very ugly, unproductive fight in the weeks leading up to the season, which left a bad taste in a lot people’s mouths. It killed some interest, and once other sports returned, baseball was put on the backnburner.
Both sides should keep that in mind during the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement this winter. The game is in position to bounce back tremendously after last year. Don’t ruin it next year with a lockout.
YOUR TURN: Are you watching more baseball so far this year? Is MLB right to emphasize streaming for ratings over television?