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Make_the_music_stop t1_j9ajfgz wrote

The gap between the two lines is telling. Down to price or popularity? Baseball has so many empty seats!

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Minneapolis_W t1_j9arjki wrote

Might also have to do with the sheer volume of games. MLB teams have 81 home games per year, vs 41 for NBA and NHL, 17 for MLS and 8-9 for NFL. If your local MLB team isn’t a) fantastic and competing for a championship and/or b) woven into the fabric of the city (Boston, Yankees) it’s a tough sell to get people to spend a third of their summer days/nights going to the park.

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Make_the_music_stop t1_j9asyug wrote

So total tickets per season attendance MLB will be the highest. By far

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Minneapolis_W t1_j9auhth wrote

Yes, by an enormous margin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attendance_figures_at_domestic_professional_sports_leagues

2019 saw about 68M in total MLB attendance, 22M for NHL, 22M for NBA, 17M for NFL and 10M for MLS.

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Make_the_music_stop t1_j9auyfv wrote

Thanks. So it really is America's game.

"Why is baseball called America's pastime? This is because baseball is the sport that generations have grown up playing. From the Industrial Revolution to the Cold War to our present day, baseball has survived countless economic endeavors and national hardships. To say it very simply, baseball has survived the test of time"

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Psycho_Sentinal t1_j9bt1q1 wrote

Counterpoint: while MLB has the highest total it is no longer “The Sport” and the NFL has taken over in cultural significance.

For example the MLB World Series avg viewership for 2022 was about 12 million. The average viewership for a Regular Season NFL game is 17 million.

So more people watch NFL games that may or may not be competing for playoff seeding or have the best teams in the league/be in the best time slots or even broadcasted nationally. The World Series is a national broadcast and still falls short.

There is a reason why the tv rights for the NFL dominate every other league. More people care to spend their time watching games. And any game for the NFL when compared to the playoffs or championship of other sports.

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ZarafFaraz t1_j9bomw5 wrote

It's funny how it's also Japan's national sport.

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RelativeAssistant923 t1_j9br476 wrote

No, it is not "America's game". It is third in TV viewership, third in self identified fan interest, and second in overall revenue. It's also declining: only 25% of sports fans under the age of 25 say they follow it (https://www.statista.com/chart/15869/favrotie-sports-league/) and attendance is down 14% since 2007 (https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2387447)

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Spaticles t1_j9c8zoe wrote

But how does that compare to previous generations? People who were 25 in 1960 may have also had 25% interest, but by the time that generation was 50, they could have gone up in interest. It's an old man's game.

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RelativeAssistant923 t1_j9cs6p3 wrote

I dont know that that data exists, but its far from the only evidence of baseball's decline.

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social_media_suxs t1_j9dyfj8 wrote

The big issue with viewership are RSN contracts requiring cable subscriptions at a time when people are ditching cable. It's a huge problem MLB is now looking to fix.

Recent example being Dodgers games having a multi-year blackout in their own home market. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/dodgers-tv-blackout-is-finally-over-for-some-fans-in-southern-california/

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RelativeAssistant923 t1_j9exk09 wrote

I mean, yes, this is a problem with sports generally (although the NBA is doing better than others). But in terms of whether it's "America's game", MLB has never had the viewership revenue that the NFL has right now.

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fatamSC2 t1_j9cg14u wrote

NFL is more popular these days. If you went back a few decades there's more of an argument for the MLB and even the NBA in the Jordan era but these days NFL is king and its not even all that close anymore.

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el_basopsid t1_j9cz2sj wrote

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.

America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.

This field, this game-it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again.

Ohhhhhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

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Augen76 t1_j9b2c59 wrote

In Cincinnati the Reds (the oldest baseball team) are absolutely woven into the fabric and have a gorgeous stadium in a great location.

Issue is there is no hope, not only have they been terrible for a while, the mood is they will not win another championship anytime soon.

They are lucky to have loyal fans and sponsors they do, because I know I and so many others are going to the ballpark less and less.

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Kirbymonic t1_j9bnswx wrote

Living in Cincy, the bengals being good the past couple years has really made the city come alive. I wonder if the Reds making a similar run would be even more of a stimulant for the city.

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Augen76 t1_j9bpve4 wrote

I think so, it is a city that is crying out for a win from its sports teams.

Speaking of which, I'm so pumped for FC Cincinnati home opener this Saturday!

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SeriousPuppet t1_j9e8iwm wrote

The Univ is doing well too. Aren't they joining the Big 12?

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BoMcCready OP t1_j9ak59c wrote

That's a great question! I'd also note that baseball continues adjusting its rules to improve watchability/pace of play, which isn't something you've seen much in other leagues. I enjoy baseball but I understand why it's a hard sell and attendance has been declining for years.

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Make_the_music_stop t1_j9aljzs wrote

Average game for MBL and NFL is around 3+ hours.

Now test cricket can be 5 days with 8 to 9 hours per day. Sometimes those stadiums are packed the whole time.

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NarcissusLovesEcho t1_j9arijh wrote

But aren't test cricket matches usually pretty important? MLB teams play 162 games per season and relatively few of these games have serious implications. I love baseball, but even I usually have it on in the background while I'm doing other things. The slowness of the game and the fact that it really doesn't matter too much whether my team wins or loses any particular game suits me. But I can see why the average person is going to have a hard time getting into it at all.

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Make_the_music_stop t1_j9asm26 wrote

Yes you are right. Test matches are international matches and each country will play 8 to 12 per year. Only half at home on average.

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LordRobin------RM t1_j9c7yll wrote

Sometimes? Maybe? But whenever I see test cricket on ESPN+, the stadium usually looks abandoned. There's no shortage of "test cricket is doomed" articles to be found on the web, and the ICC has even tossed around the idea of shortening the match time limit from 5 to 4 or even 3 days to add a sense of urgency and more aggressive play.

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Poincare_Confection t1_j9b8hxr wrote

It's explained by supply vs demand.

Baseball has 162 games per season. No other sport on this list comes close to that. Next highest is NHL and NBA at 82 games. Baseball stadiums also have relatively high max capacity as you can see.

Twice as many games as NBA and twice as much max capacity explain the bigger gap between avg attendance and max capacity. What ends up happening is that there are so many games and seats that fans pick and choose the "best" games to attend (with best opponents). In NBA seats are so scarce that you just pick whatever you can afford.

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RelativeAssistant923 t1_j9broy0 wrote

The NBA is also very willing to charge a ton of money for tickets in a half full stadium.

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Poincare_Confection t1_j9bza2x wrote

Well, the data here shows they almost always fill their stadiums. Average attendance is 91% of average max capacity. That's insanely good. Means almost every NBA game is sold out.

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RelativeAssistant923 t1_j9csfz1 wrote

Maybe I'm only going to unpopular teams? Or maybe there's a big gap between tickets sold and button in seats? I've gotten some very expensive tickets for half empty stadiums in multiple cities.

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Irishknife t1_j9ay6hz wrote

Probably both but also the availability as well. If you're from Kansas City and want to catch a royals game, you have 81 opportunities when your team is playing at home. You have loads of chances. If you're trying to catch a chiefs game, you only have 8 or 9 for the regular season. I am surpried the NBA doesnt have more seats though. Would have thought they'd be in the 30k+ range.

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VeseliM t1_j9b5krb wrote

Most arenas cap out at 20-25k seats. Even new stadiums are being built with that capacity.

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TArzate5 t1_j9b7nsz wrote

Basketball arenas are really small compared to football, baseball, and soccer stadiums

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fatamSC2 t1_j9cglgp wrote

NBA isn't nearly as popular as it used to be. Things have taken a downward turn even more in the last few years. I mean, they're still making money but the game isn't nearly as popular (adjusted for population/inflation/etc) as it was in the 90s

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SeriousPuppet t1_j9e8ofg wrote

Interesting. It seems to be quite popular amongst the younger generations.

Also, I wonder how much soccer has taken from the other sports in terms of eyeballs. It has been growing the past 30 years.

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Gsogso123 t1_j9d7j6j wrote

Biggest disparity across the board is that NFL and MLB games are in much larger stadiums, some NFL teams are played in domes but they are much larger than NFL and NHL stadiums.

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itsniickgeo t1_j9cbftp wrote

Baseball is not as popular as it used to be, but still has higher average attendance than most of the other sports

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