The NFL has long been the king of the airwaves in the late summer and early fall. It’s usually no contest when the NFL goes up against the MLB Playoffs on television. The allure of the most popular sport in the United States has often led to better ratings and bigger audiences. This year could be a little bit different though. A lackluster Thursday Night Football game, combined with new teams, new rules, and a new energy around baseball, may give the NFL a run for its money and viewers.
Thursday Night Football features the 0-4 hapless Chicago Bears and the 2-2 Washington Commanders. This match-up may not even be watched in Chicago thanks to the awful season the Bears are already having. Thursday Night Football has been cursed with some of the worst games of the week in recent years, which won’t help that broadcast too much. Normally, that wouldn’t matter, but a dud game on Prime, which is still difficult for some fans to even get used to, gives baseball a shot. I’m talking about a real, legitimate shot.
This time, baseball doesn’t need to pull out fancy gimmicks to attract viewers. It certainly did in years past, with players mic’d up, umpires wearing microphones, unique camera angles, and in-game interviews. Nope, not now, baseball can stand on its own merits. The sport flourished in 2023 and captured many new and young viewers to the game. It really needed it.
The game of baseball is “watchable” again, because of all the changes that were made to it by the league this year. It’s renewed the energy in the game. Baseball is on a roll and there’s no reason to think it won’t continue, with big viewership in the playoffs. Why? If you’ll indulge me, I’ll present some numerical and factual evidence to support my thoughts.
“If they change it, they will come.”
Ok, this isn’t the field of dreams, but people were dreaming about coming to the field and in big numbers this season. In 2023, crowds were up by 9.6 percent over last year, with just over 70 million fans attending games. 17 teams went over the 2.5 million mark, matching the most in MLB history. Eight clubs registered attendance figures of over 3 million fans for the first time in 10 years. 80 percent of the league showed gains in attendance.
There was also more of a demand to watch games via MLB’s streaming platform MLB.TV. The interest level represented the most streamed season in the 21-year history of the service. 12.7 billion minutes of action were watched, up 9 percent over last year. Nine of the top 10 most-watched days, including the top five ever, were recorded this year. Since game times decreased, the total number of games watched from start to finish was up 17 percent.
This certainly bodes well for the postseason and for ESPN/ABC and TBS.
Why did all this happen? Because baseball revived itself from the sports trash heap with the new rules implemented this year. The pitch clock did what it was supposed to do, shortened game times. It’s been 38 years since games were this short. The average game time was just under 2:40. In 2023, there were only nine games that lasted 3:30 or longer. In 2021, that number was 390, the most in MLB history.
Action on the field was way up too, the larger bases led to more runs and the most successful stolen bases in baseball history. Plus, the expanded playoffs, meant that several teams were playing extremely meaningful games up until the final days of the regular season. The changes resulted in one of the more successful seasons in recent memory.
It also produced some big-time superstar players. These guys are ‘stop what you’re doing’ kind of players that keep fans in their seats when they bat, field, or get on base. Guys like Ronald Acuna Jr., Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman, and Vlad Guerrero Jr., are worth the watch. Personable and talented that do things normal humans can only dream of doing on the baseball field. They’ll just add to the intrigue and the viewership of the playoffs in baseball.
Sometimes, the rules change in the postseason. Not the actual rules of the game, but the way teams approach games, strays from what actually got them to the playoffs. Running teams don’t run as much. Power-hitting teams don’t bash as many home runs facing only the best pitchers. The weather is cooler and there’s been a spotlight on pitching and defense. That would hurt ratings because of the perceived stogy nature of the game.
This year it’s going to be different. The exciting game that was played during the regular season looks like it will be the blueprint for the postseason as well. After all, if it’s not broken, don’t even try to fix it.
Baseball has more going for it this postseason than Thursday Night Football, or Sunday afternoon football this early in the NFL season. With new teams involved, meaning no Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, or Cardinals for the first time in a while. New clubs, equals new interest, not only in the team’s market but also in those who are sick of the status quo. Plus, this is only Week 5 of the NFL season.
Yeah, I know that there aren’t as many NFL games — especially Thursday Night Football — and each has extreme value. Still, the matchups in baseball outweigh those this early in the football season. It’s especially true with tonight’s Chicago/Washington game.
Football is becoming the old baseball too. Games are taking forever to finish. There’s no flow to the game anymore, because referees want to make sure their families get to see them on television, often.
So many flags, extended discussions, replay reviews and terrible coaching decisions, make it hard to watch at times. There isn’t a lot of parity either, several teams in the league are head and shoulders above all the others. That doesn’t do much for competitive games. It makes for some snooze-fests which really lack intrigue and interest.
Baseball play-by-play on television has gotten even better than it was before. With less time for minutia, we only see the best of what a production has to offer. The announcers seem to be enjoying the pitch clock, because they now get to focus on the action, the players, and the important numbers in the game.
The telecasts are crisp. The network baseball broadcasters are terrific and these new era games highlight their talents in a big way. America’s pastime is back in the spotlight and to me, the choice is easy, baseball over football this postseason.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
