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Monday, March 14, 2022

MLB Viewers Spend More Time With Linear TV Overall


Although Major League Baseball has averted a major disruption, if not cancellation, of the upcoming season due to its three-month work stoppage, some problems remain -- especially when it comes to TV advertisers and the sport’s hardcore TV viewers, reports Mediapost.

A report from Samba TV says older, high-income households with white viewers are the biggest MLB fans, and that most of its overall viewers spend more time on linear TV networks than on streaming or other alternatives. The top three-indexing demographics were 75+, white, and households making more than $200,000.


Samba TV says, for example, that MLB viewers post a 2.01 index on the Fox Television Network followed by 1.98 on CBS, 1.96 on ABC, 1.95 for USA Network and 1.94 on NBC, when looking at data from January to February of this year.

These indexes exclude sports programming and are based on time spent viewing compared to the average U.S. household.

A survey by the Sports Business Journal last year said the MLB had the oldest fans, with an average age of 57. Other sports were significantly lower, with the NBA at 42, followed by the NHL with 49 and the NFL with 50.

Business analysts have long been concerned that baseball needs the more diverse and somewhat younger TV viewers that other big-time sports pull in to grow the sport.

According to a number of estimates, national TV spending on Major League Baseball TV networks for the 2021 season was roughly $480 million to $510 million, including postseason business.

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