The 2020 pandemic affected MLB’s viewership levels and overall popularity in a big way.
First, there was a long-standing dispute about the conditions and length of the season.
Then, there was a lockout that threatened to take some games off the 2022 season calendar.
People got mad about the two situations and stopped watching to some degree.
The 2021 and 2022 campaigns suffered in the aftermath of each occurrence.
Things have stabilized now, there is a new collective bargaining agreement, players negotiated a better deal than the previous one, minor leaguers are now part of the CBA, salaries are up with the competitive balance tax (CBT) increase, and the overall health of the game looks good.
On top of that, the World Baseball Classic opened new markets at the international level and reported record ratings and people at the stadiums.
If that wasn’t enough, the league came up with a series of rules to make games shorter and more interesting.
All these situations have contributed to Opening Day being very popular this year.
“Opening Day generated 172 million minutes watched across 15 MLB games on MLB TV — up 42% from last year,” Front Office Sports tweeted.
Opening Day generated 172 million minutes watched across 15 MLB games on MLB TV — up 42% from last year.@MMcCarthyREV discusses how MLB’s new rules may be driving viewership ⤵️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 4, 2023
A 42 percent increase in just one year is amazing growth.
People are more interested to watch a game because pitchers and batters don’t waste much time now because of the pitch clock; and there are more stolen bases and action on the basepaths due to the larger bases and shift restrictions.
The ghost-runner rule prevents games from going to the 12th or 13th inning, too.
Fans have responded positively to the rule changes, and the game is better than ever.
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