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U.S. baseball may outweigh everyone. Here’s why marketers should pay attention.
Question: Which professional stadium/arena do you think a sports fan in the U.S. is most likely to be sitting in? For those of you who guessed football or basketball, the answer might be surprising: Major League Baseball. Hard to believe? Not when you know the facts.
Marketers are always looking for opportunities, but in sports, the biggest one of all is going under the radar. With the World Series upon us, now is the chance to tap into the potential of professional baseball.
Still America’s Favorite Pastime
People tend to think of the NFL as the number one sports organization in America, or quickly assume the NBA surely must be more popular than MLB, but fandom statistics suggest otherwise. Despite its reputation as being for aging viewers, baseball is one of the most influential sports in the U.S. today, and young fans are driving that fandom. Some research might suggest the opposite is true, but these surveys rely on adults’ input, with few including the teenage population.
According to data from our 2023 sports report in partnership with Vision Insights, while MLB fans rank second at 171.1 million behind the NFL’s 188.4 million fans, MLB rakes in the most fans between the ages of zero and 17, more than any other league. It makes sense if we think about it. About 39 percent of all MLB fans said they became fans because they played themselves as kids. Those kids became MLB fans after playing on their Little League teams or even in neighborhood games.
Aware of this opportunity, MLB has been investing heavily in youth sports. They recently partnered with a company called Diamond Kinetics to help them roll out a product that collects data from a sensor in the bat; youth team players can track their stats, access coaching, and enjoy other virtual experiences on an app, making baseball that much cooler for those kids. As MLB continues implementing new ways to nurture longer relationships with its largest fandom demographic, its popularity will only continue to grow.
Advertising Opportunities Abound
Among professional sports, baseball offers the most abundant marketing opportunities. MLB live game attendance is the largest of all professional sports, but this makes sense when we look at how many live games MLB hosts: Compared to the NFL’s 17 regular season games, MLB has 162. Even with the NFL’s larger stadium seating to accommodate up to 90,000 fans versus around 50,000 for MLB stadiums, the total live game viewing of football could never even come close to professional baseball. Not only that, but MLB attendance was up this year, surpassing 70 million. This is its largest increase in attendance since 1998.
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MLB local viewership is also the highest among all other programming. While 30 years ago, we might have only been able to watch a select number of games on TV, since the advent of local sports media, all MLB games are now televised. The biggest volume of games played per season means the volume of home viewership is also the biggest in the country, and viewers are tuning in: Advertising campaigns on MLB programming have 30 percent more audience exposure than the gross rating points of the NBA and NHL combined. Even further, “[22] of the 29 U.S.-based MLB teams were the top-rated programs in their market during primetime regular-season games,” an impressive feat that lasts for roughly six months out of the year. And 13 clubs also “beat all competing primetime programming, period, including the major broadcast networks.” The 2023 regular season saw even more local success, with the majority of clubs showing gains in their local viewership, and MLB overall boasting a 7% increase.
The NFL may have more fans nationally, but 82 percent of all MLB regular season viewing is done locally. During the regular season, regional sports networks showing MLB games regularly outperform top regional and national primetime TV programming, including NBA and NHL games in the same regions. This deep, local connection of MLB fans also makes them the perfect audience for local and regional brands. For advertisers looking to spend marketing dollars, in-stadium and TV viewing for MLB games present ample opportunities.
A Broad Audience of Valuable Fans
Baseball draws fans who tend to stay more connected to their teams, and they pay attention to the brands they see at baseball games or during broadcasts. With so many Americans playing baseball at a younger age, our research found that MLB has also developed the highest concentration of “forever fans.” These fans commit to a sport in their youth and are 2.5 times more likely to watch all of their team’s games — three times more likely to connect with brands that support their team, visit their apps or websites and make a purchase from that brand. MLB fans may stray in their 20s or 30s, but the report also found them more likely to return to the sport as adults with families and children of their own.
The cost of a stadium ticket also helps bring a broader audience to MLB live games. Some fans will go because they want to see their local team. Others less familiar with the teams might go to celebrate a birthday. Couples and families may go because they want to enjoy a reasonably priced and fun activity. On the other hand, the cost of an NFL ticket could be too prohibitive for more people who aren’t avid fans. Thanks to this audience diversity, both baseball-related and adjacent brands can find opportunities to target and attract potential customers.
When it comes to measuring the popularity of professional sports leagues in the U.S., baseball outweighs its major league competitors on numerous fronts. Marketers can leverage this information to ramp up their efforts with MLB in mind. Get to know the breadth of its fanbase, their ages and how MLB fans can be a valuable audience. Look into marketing tools, services and third-party agencies and fully exploit their abundant marketing opportunities. Most marketers are still missing out on this knowledge, so be the first to tap into the potential of supporting MLB and reap the most benefits.
