Major League Baseball started the season with strong ratings. Those numbers have since dropped off.
The league has seen a 12% drop in ratings among its 29 domestic regional sports networks as measured by Nielsen when compared to its last full season in 2019. Only six RSNs have seen an increase in ratings compared to 2019, and 12 of the 29 have even seen a decrease when compared to the shortened 2020 season.
This is most likely not driven by politics. MLB has had some viewership issues over the past few years, and the decline did not come in the immediate aftermath of commissioner Rob Manfred’s partisan decision to move the All-Star Game out of Georgia. Any political drop-off in MLB ratings was likely seen last season in concert with the pandemic disrupting the league schedule.
This is notable, if only for the fact that the strong numbers to start the season haven’t persisted. The next measuring point will come after the playoffs in October, as the 2020 World Series was the least-watched of all time, and the 2019 World Series was the fourth least-watched. Game 7 of the 2019 World Series was also the least-watched Game 7 of all time.
