The ratings for the initial period of the MLB season have risen significantly while attendances are decreasing. The 41 games shown thus far on cable channels ESPN and TBS drew a cumulative 52.95 million viewers during April - a rise of 30.7 percent on the 40.52m viewers for the same period in 2001.
In a further boost for MLB's television coverage, the viewer demographic in the 12-17 year old age group increased 13.9 percent from 1.85m to 2.1m.
Bob DuPuy, MLB's Chief Operating Officer, stated: "Despite in-park attendance being down slightly, our viewership is up significantly. Having almost 13 million more viewers watch MLB on national television demonstrates that our sport's fan base is strong and growing stronger. And, it bodes extremely well for our future to see that more teenagers are watching our games."
While television ratings were up, average attendance dropped 5 percent from 28,013 fans per ballpark to 26,626.
For all the background on MLB's television strategy and ratings information worldwide, check out our sister site www.SportBusinessTV.com
The television ratings for the first month of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season have proved that fans are preferring to stay at home and watch televised coverage of the games.
