MLB Gets Massive Ratings For All-Star Game, As Baseball Continues To Grow
MLB's changes to the Midsummer Classic have worked
Major League Baseball continues to be on a winning streak.
MLB has seen attendance increase, with the 2024 season marking year-over-year growth and the highest total figure, 71.4 million, of any season since 2017. Attendance has grown 11% since 2022, thanks in part to new rules to speed up pace of play and shorten game time that were added in 2023. And outside the Tampa Bay Rays, who've seen their attendance decline thanks to playing home games in a spring training stadium, league attendance is on pace to once again grow in 2025.
Ratings are up too; across every network, every platform and broadcast window, more and more viewers are tuning into professional baseball games.
READ: Sunday Night Baseball MLB Ratings Show Why ESPN Made Another Huge Mistake
And with ratings for the 2025 All-Star Game now in, it's clear that the league has made significant strides towards regaining its national popularity.
National League pitcher Clayton Kershaw leaves the All Star Game in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
MLB All-Star Game A Huge Success Story For The League
Tuesday night's All-Star Game reached 7.2 million viewers, becoming the largest television audience for the Midsummer classic since 2017. And continuing the trend of ratings increases from the first half of the year.
It also cemented that MLB has the only compelling All-Star Game format among the four big professional sports, as it wildly outpaced ratings from the NBA and NFL. Though the NHL's "Four Nations" tournament was a huge ratings and social media hit, driving a tremendous amount of interest through nation-based competition.
Still, MLB has to be thrilled that their changes have paid off. Pace of play enhancements have been an unmitigated success, with fans returning to stadiums in droves now that games routinely take around two and a half hours. There's more excitement and energy and less downtime between pitches.
And their changes to the rules of the All-Star Game have worked well too; the first ever swing off was a blast to watch. And much more fun than ending in a tie or playing more exhibition baseball. The mid-game tribute to legendary Braves player Hank Aaron was also incredibly well done. Mixing technology and storytelling in a unique, unusual way.
This is why ESPN's seeming decision to exit the baseball business was so odd. Game one of the NBA Finals averaged 8.91 million viewers. The meaningless MLB All-Star Game averaged 7.2 million. Guess which one ESPN's prioritized. Maybe next time they'll learn from their mistakes.