Shohei Ohtani recently became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.
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The Major League Baseball playoffs have been a huge success.
Sunday’s Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 8.26 million viewers nationally. fox Sports television networks and streaming made it the most-watched LCS game since 2009, according to Fox Sports.
Monday night’s Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Defenders saw a 4% increase in viewers over 2023, with 3.9 million viewers, according to a TNT Sports spokesperson.
Both series compete for national attention during “Sunday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football,” with New York’s three NFL teams competing in prime time.
The Championship Series victory follows four successful league division series runs by MLB and its broadcast partners. According to TNT Sports, the American League Division Series averaged 3 million viewers, an increase of more than 20% from 2023. Ratings are also up for the National League Division Series, which will continue to climb for the fourth game of each series starting in 2022.
In recent years, there has been growing concern about MLB Cultural relevance is decliningi.e. younger generations are considered to have shorter attention spans for key demographics in media companies. Highlights and clips have become the go-to show for sports broadcasters.
Last year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks was also tracked worst highest TV ratings in Championship Series history, despite some It is said Chalk it up to the fact that these teams don’t have much traction nationally.
MLB’s 2024 regular season has also been a success. The league said attendance, fan engagement, live broadcasts and viewership were all up, attributable to shorter game lengths (thanks to the game clock introduced last season) and rule changes that created more games internal action.
“Over the past two seasons, baseball fans of all ages have become more passionate, and that’s reflected in all of the ways we track fan engagement,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a news release. It’s evident in the ways. “Building on last year’s momentum, the 2024 season is set to be memorable with historic performances, emerging young stars, a series of successful special events and a fierce pennant race.”
Mr. Meter poses before a game between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets at Citi Field.
Rob Tringali | MLB | Getty Images
MLB has recently implemented several rule changes designed to increase in-game action, such as expanded bases and restrictions change. The league is also leaning toward generational stars like Shohei Ohtani and the Yankees, who played for the Dodgers and Yankees respectively, and would face off in the World Series if their teams each won the LCS.
“Two of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball are coming together,” Eldridge Industries CEO Todd Boley told CNBC’s Scott Wapner on “Halftime Report” on Tuesday. , a trip to the World Series, which couldn’t be better for baseball. Boley’s company is the owner of the Dodgers and other professional teams.
The other two teams, the Mets and Guardians, have their own draws. The Mets turned around their season in June after a winning streak, and then McDonald’s mascot, grimacethrowing out the first pitch of the game.
The Guardians corrected their season after surrendering the division lead to the Kansas City Royals in late August after their star Jose Ramirez had a torrid September.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead against the Guardians, and the Mets-Dodgers series was tied 1-1.
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