Major League Baseball needs more home runs to compete with more action-packed sports as TV viewership sees 12% decline in 2021, says GlobalData

Following a 12% decline in Major League Baseball (MLB) TV viewership between 2019 and 2021, GlobalData notes that the sport is struggling to appeal to younger viewers—estimating that the average age of a baseball fan in North America is 57. The leading data and analytics company highlights that the slow-nature of baseball is often outdone by the fast-paced nature of American football and basketball.

Tanveer Aujla, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The inherent nature of sport is to entertain, but baseball’s length and slow pace make it a difficult draw for those that have no prior interest. While baseball purists will always believe that the slow-paced nature of the sport is an appealing factor, it doesn’t have widespread appeal due to the frequent lack of action in a game. The fast-paced and flashy nature of the sports its directly competing with presents a serious problem for MLB.”

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Anti-Doping in Sport – Thematic Research’ reveals that physical attendance during the 1990s and 2000s went up by 44% as the league saw an increase in the number of home runs. Meanwhile, the league’s revenue increased by 115%. However, this coincided with a number of cheating and doping scandals, in which major players were later found to be taking banned substances.

Aujla continues: “The MLB is in a truly bizarre situation, in that interest in the league was greatest during an era of doping—which everyone would agree directly counteracts the fair competition that sport is supposed to provide. However, the fact remains that baseball is more entertaining if more home runs are being hit, but the only way to return to the heyday of the 90s would be to introduce doping as a legal part of the sport, which would be an absolutely unprecedented decision.”

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