Will MLB be popular or still be watched in the future? Or will NBA take its spot in the future? Making MLB like NHL or a niche sport? š¤·āāļø
49 comments
I think mlb will be a solid 3rd place. If anything,international fans in places like Japan will help it. I personally think in 15 to 20 years hockey will be below soccer in the US
I donāt think so. I think the NFL is reaching a breaking point. Itās become too expensive and the play has become mediocre. My experience is anecdotal but Iām moving away from football and looking at baseball. Iām hoping to go to a few games this coming season as tickets are actually affordable.
This is very telling about whatās really going on between the NHL and NBA. NHL has way more ticket revenue, but the NBA has a better media deal.
NBA ratings are way down. NFL is on the verge of over exposure. If MLB is smart and drops the blackout rules they can move up.
Definitely
It will if we raise our children correctly 
Think hockey is on the rise by a lot
#GetRidOfTheBlackouts
All 4 major sports will always be popular in their own respect.
How far in the future we talking? 1000 years? I doubt it.Ā
You have to look at the average of viewer to get an idea of what has the most growth and which is plateauing. The NBA and MLS in general have the lowest aged fan base, hovering around 40. Now the MLB is pretty high, somewhere in the mid 50s to possibly 60. But young kids donāt really watch football, less kids care today about sports in general than probably any previous generations. I think sports in a whole will take a step back a little bit over the next decade due to lack of young viewers. All of the statistics have trended in the wrong direction; average age of viewer going up instead of down. Theyāre not gaining as many viewers as they will lose.
The NBA is the most unwatchable dogshit on planet earth these days. Who tunes into that shit.
Yes, due to large international interests that keep increasing. We will likely see Amercian viewership decline.
If it will be, it will be despite league’s self-crippling greed.
No, baseball will always be here. Itās survived for over 100 years, with all the changes time brings. And if the owners want to put a competitive team on the field, and let people watch the games, it will continue to be a major sport.
MLB got greedy when they extended an already long season.
I meanā¦itās doing great in Japan. Domestically thereās only so much that can be done with blackouts
Looks like they need a way better tv deal.
Ask again later
I’ve never seen baseball as popular as it was this fall. I can barely watch NFL or NBA now because they are meaningless in comparison to those October games
I actually think baseball has the correct model; ticket sales as the no. 1 generator of revenue.
In my area, NESN owns the market on TV. I have half a season ticket package so I see a lot of games. I pay for Direct TV Stream and get the regional, so no blackout for me for the remainder of the games. NESN will sell direct access to you for about 30 bucks a month.
MLB when it first offered over the internet streaming back in 2004/2005 time frame didnāt do blackouts. If the regionals would sell you streaming access then I think it would be perfect.
I’m kinda surprised that 26% of their revenue comes from National TV considering the playoffs is the only time it’s on consistently besides Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and Baseball Night in America on FOX.
(Occasionally Tuesday night baseball on TBS, but inconsistently.)
Unless they are including Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+ and ROKU Sunday Leadoff (which would not technically be national TV, but rather some sort of streaming service) I don’t see them getting more than half of the NBA’s numbers as listed.
(Again with the exception of Peacock on occasionally, but inconsistently, just adds to my point.)
10% of MLB revenue can’t be from concessions & parking can it??? $1.1B a year in peanuts/beer/hotdogs & parking??
I feel like no, but I could be wrong. This all sports btw, in always trying to make sure thereās no player injuries the sport suffers with rules. As the rules get stricter and more sponsors I know itās only 2 sponsors. That argument went from itāll never happen, to two. Iām Canadian our CFL teams have them all over the jerseys look like crap and the sport is getting softer. Maybe Iām the problem, sorry to rant. Just saw the title and made me think I honestly donāt know MLB along with the big 4. And NBA is as soft as puppy poo now
The NFL is such a joke, I will never understand how anyone could care and devote their time to a sports franchince that plays only 17 regular season games a year
Of course it will. It is the best sport!
Basketball is my favorite sport and I can objectively say the NBA is the worst product. Ad overload and the officiating has destroyed the game. NFL feels like itās never reached a wider audience than right now though
Can someone explain why the NHL relies on ticket revenue the most? And by far
This is a great breakdown of how revenue comes to the different sports, and shows how football is a great TV sport but baseball is a superior in person experience. In that sense theyāre not even really competing with each other but filling different needs in sports fans
Just as Iāve thought for years. ESPN trying to push an inferior product (NBA). No surprise that NHL is highest in ticket revenue. The best live sport and itās not even close.
Baseball games and basketball games being extremely affordable really makes me like both more than NFL. I see at least 5 of each a year and this was before recently moved within 25 miles of a pro team.
The national media severely overrates how popular the NBA is. MLB and NBA are very similar anecdotally and statistically in their popularity in the US.
The constant ābaseball is dyingā narrative is so old. It was the most popular national sport the world had ever seen for 70 years. Yea, it had a come down from that but it would be impossible not to.
MLB, NBA and NHL will be the secondary sports to NFL in our lifetimes but they all enjoy immense popularity.
this is actually a really interesting discussion. I think popular American sports in general are at an inflection point. Safety restrictions and looking at the sportās core basics in relation to how we are as society will determine how the viewership/fanbase will be in the next 5-10-20 years
Is it popular now?
Modern society doesnāt have the attention span for baseball unfortunately
Love baseball. Saw more games by going to the game than I was able to actually watch. The only provider I can watch my team on is $20 a month which is insane when you consider it only for baseball…
Baseball will always be the thing you watch by going to as a fun day out. Going to a baseball game is nostalgic for everyone. But watching regular season games no… I’m a big fan and even I don’t watch 162 games. I follow important matchups and playoffs.
I feel like my Fandom is common too.
MLB still gets good money from National TV deal, but gonna be hard to replace the $$ the RSNs gave to so many teams
When MLB took over the Padres broadcasts they took a $50+m hit from losing their local TV deal
FSN / Bally / FanDuel / Whatever to call them this week has never had good relationships with the cable / satellite providers, one of the many reasons they are failing
When the Phoenix Suns left Bally their potential viewership went from 200k to over a million
Will be interesting to see how the Dallas Stars full season on Victory+ works out. I’d hope that could be a viable mode for the future
NHL will never get big money from a National TV deal, at least in the US. Sportsnet in Canada gave them $430+/year for 12 years. ESPN deal is like $20/year … And no cracks about our exchange rate š
Itās a shame the NHL doesnāt get more viewership. Itās honestly the best sport of the 4 if you give it a chance.
Yes. And if they ever finally get rid of blackouts, it’ll grow even more.
The NBA has actually fallen off a LOT in the past few years. A lot of people find the games terrible and there’s no young player on the level of Jordan, Kobe, or LeBron to bring in casuals. Yes, LeBron is still playing, but he’s not the draw he was back in his Cavs/Heat days.
The cities pay taxes for the stadiums their teams play in, yet they cannot even watch them on tv without paying them as well. MLB will destroy their own brand.
Where does the NFL’s local TV/media revenue come from?
Didn’t realize that ticket and parking are two seperated revenue sources.
Something no one talks about, unironically, is baseball’s parity and fairness.
Before a fan of a small club gets irate, by this I mean that the rules are pretty well established. You may spend as much as your owner is willing, and everyone needs to play the same grueling schedule. Yes, there are the traditional power houses but teams like the Astros are new to the perennially always there club. All any small club needs to do is just make the post season and then catch fire.
Football is completely different. The salary cap turns it into a popularity contest arms race. The popular notion of “sports entertainment” ie the games rigged has blossomed in football because of tight fisted controls over player salary.
MLB was willing to let Texas – Arizona happen in the WS. The NFL would never let Jacksonville-New Orleans happen when it has the Taylor Swift button to smash.
I think this inherent fairness in baseball will keep it relevant
Not if the world series is the equivalent of the Tyson Paul fight.
The main issue plaguing all leagues right now is being able to watch the games
#2 come on.
MLB is gonna decline. It’s a slow game and people have shorter and shorter attention spans. I don’t think Gen Z and young people really are that into baseball percentage wise.
NBA is on the decline. MLB will hold steady and is growing internationally. Iām buying stock in the NHL rn if I could.
49 comments
I think mlb will be a solid 3rd place. If anything,international fans in places like Japan will help it. I personally think in 15 to 20 years hockey will be below soccer in the US
I donāt think so. I think the NFL is reaching a breaking point. Itās become too expensive and the play has become mediocre. My experience is anecdotal but Iām moving away from football and looking at baseball. Iām hoping to go to a few games this coming season as tickets are actually affordable.
This is very telling about whatās really going on between the NHL and NBA. NHL has way more ticket revenue, but the NBA has a better media deal.
NBA ratings are way down. NFL is on the verge of over exposure. If MLB is smart and drops the blackout rules they can move up.
Definitely
It will if we raise our children correctly 
Think hockey is on the rise by a lot
#GetRidOfTheBlackouts
All 4 major sports will always be popular in their own respect.
How far in the future we talking? 1000 years? I doubt it.Ā
You have to look at the average of viewer to get an idea of what has the most growth and which is plateauing. The NBA and MLS in general have the lowest aged fan base, hovering around 40. Now the MLB is pretty high, somewhere in the mid 50s to possibly 60. But young kids donāt really watch football, less kids care today about sports in general than probably any previous generations. I think sports in a whole will take a step back a little bit over the next decade due to lack of young viewers. All of the statistics have trended in the wrong direction; average age of viewer going up instead of down. Theyāre not gaining as many viewers as they will lose.
The NBA is the most unwatchable dogshit on planet earth these days. Who tunes into that shit.
Yes, due to large international interests that keep increasing. We will likely see Amercian viewership decline.
If it will be, it will be despite league’s self-crippling greed.
No, baseball will always be here. Itās survived for over 100 years, with all the changes time brings. And if the owners want to put a competitive team on the field, and let people watch the games, it will continue to be a major sport.
MLB got greedy when they extended an already long season.
I meanā¦itās doing great in Japan. Domestically thereās only so much that can be done with blackouts
Looks like they need a way better tv deal.
Ask again later
I’ve never seen baseball as popular as it was this fall. I can barely watch NFL or NBA now because they are meaningless in comparison to those October games
I actually think baseball has the correct model; ticket sales as the no. 1 generator of revenue.
In my area, NESN owns the market on TV. I have half a season ticket package so I see a lot of games. I pay for Direct TV Stream and get the regional, so no blackout for me for the remainder of the games. NESN will sell direct access to you for about 30 bucks a month.
MLB when it first offered over the internet streaming back in 2004/2005 time frame didnāt do blackouts. If the regionals would sell you streaming access then I think it would be perfect.
I’m kinda surprised that 26% of their revenue comes from National TV considering the playoffs is the only time it’s on consistently besides Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and Baseball Night in America on FOX.
(Occasionally Tuesday night baseball on TBS, but inconsistently.)
Unless they are including Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+ and ROKU Sunday Leadoff (which would not technically be national TV, but rather some sort of streaming service) I don’t see them getting more than half of the NBA’s numbers as listed.
(Again with the exception of Peacock on occasionally, but inconsistently, just adds to my point.)
10% of MLB revenue can’t be from concessions & parking can it??? $1.1B a year in peanuts/beer/hotdogs & parking??
I feel like no, but I could be wrong. This all sports btw, in always trying to make sure thereās no player injuries the sport suffers with rules. As the rules get stricter and more sponsors I know itās only 2 sponsors. That argument went from itāll never happen, to two. Iām Canadian our CFL teams have them all over the jerseys look like crap and the sport is getting softer. Maybe Iām the problem, sorry to rant. Just saw the title and made me think I honestly donāt know MLB along with the big 4. And NBA is as soft as puppy poo now
The NFL is such a joke, I will never understand how anyone could care and devote their time to a sports franchince that plays only 17 regular season games a year
Of course it will. It is the best sport!
Basketball is my favorite sport and I can objectively say the NBA is the worst product. Ad overload and the officiating has destroyed the game. NFL feels like itās never reached a wider audience than right now though
Can someone explain why the NHL relies on ticket revenue the most? And by far
This is a great breakdown of how revenue comes to the different sports, and shows how football is a great TV sport but baseball is a superior in person experience. In that sense theyāre not even really competing with each other but filling different needs in sports fans
Just as Iāve thought for years. ESPN trying to push an inferior product (NBA). No surprise that NHL is highest in ticket revenue. The best live sport and itās not even close.
Baseball games and basketball games being extremely affordable really makes me like both more than NFL. I see at least 5 of each a year and this was before recently moved within 25 miles of a pro team.
The national media severely overrates how popular the NBA is. MLB and NBA are very similar anecdotally and statistically in their popularity in the US.
The constant ābaseball is dyingā narrative is so old. It was the most popular national sport the world had ever seen for 70 years. Yea, it had a come down from that but it would be impossible not to.
MLB, NBA and NHL will be the secondary sports to NFL in our lifetimes but they all enjoy immense popularity.
this is actually a really interesting discussion. I think popular American sports in general are at an inflection point. Safety restrictions and looking at the sportās core basics in relation to how we are as society will determine how the viewership/fanbase will be in the next 5-10-20 years
Is it popular now?
Modern society doesnāt have the attention span for baseball unfortunately
Love baseball. Saw more games by going to the game than I was able to actually watch. The only provider I can watch my team on is $20 a month which is insane when you consider it only for baseball…
Baseball will always be the thing you watch by going to as a fun day out. Going to a baseball game is nostalgic for everyone. But watching regular season games no… I’m a big fan and even I don’t watch 162 games. I follow important matchups and playoffs.
I feel like my Fandom is common too.
MLB still gets good money from National TV deal, but gonna be hard to replace the $$ the RSNs gave to so many teams
When MLB took over the Padres broadcasts they took a $50+m hit from losing their local TV deal
FSN / Bally / FanDuel / Whatever to call them this week has never had good relationships with the cable / satellite providers, one of the many reasons they are failing
When the Phoenix Suns left Bally their potential viewership went from 200k to over a million
Will be interesting to see how the Dallas Stars full season on Victory+ works out. I’d hope that could be a viable mode for the future
NHL will never get big money from a National TV deal, at least in the US. Sportsnet in Canada gave them $430+/year for 12 years. ESPN deal is like $20/year … And no cracks about our exchange rate š
Itās a shame the NHL doesnāt get more viewership. Itās honestly the best sport of the 4 if you give it a chance.
Yes. And if they ever finally get rid of blackouts, it’ll grow even more.
The NBA has actually fallen off a LOT in the past few years. A lot of people find the games terrible and there’s no young player on the level of Jordan, Kobe, or LeBron to bring in casuals. Yes, LeBron is still playing, but he’s not the draw he was back in his Cavs/Heat days.
The cities pay taxes for the stadiums their teams play in, yet they cannot even watch them on tv without paying them as well. MLB will destroy their own brand.
Where does the NFL’s local TV/media revenue come from?
Didn’t realize that ticket and parking are two seperated revenue sources.
Something no one talks about, unironically, is baseball’s parity and fairness.
Before a fan of a small club gets irate, by this I mean that the rules are pretty well established. You may spend as much as your owner is willing, and everyone needs to play the same grueling schedule. Yes, there are the traditional power houses but teams like the Astros are new to the perennially always there club. All any small club needs to do is just make the post season and then catch fire.
Football is completely different. The salary cap turns it into a popularity contest arms race. The popular notion of “sports entertainment” ie the games rigged has blossomed in football because of tight fisted controls over player salary.
MLB was willing to let Texas – Arizona happen in the WS. The NFL would never let Jacksonville-New Orleans happen when it has the Taylor Swift button to smash.
I think this inherent fairness in baseball will keep it relevant
Not if the world series is the equivalent of the Tyson Paul fight.
The main issue plaguing all leagues right now is being able to watch the games
#2 come on.
MLB is gonna decline. It’s a slow game and people have shorter and shorter attention spans. I don’t think Gen Z and young people really are that into baseball percentage wise.
NBA is on the decline. MLB will hold steady and is growing internationally. Iām buying stock in the NHL rn if I could.