Congratulations to the sport of baseball. The World Baseball Classic was everything and more than Major League Baseball (MLB) could have hoped for: record viewership, attendance, and intrigue around a tournament that seemingly had no true lasting impact on the sport itself. The conclusion of the World Baseball Classic should be a positive lead-in for the sport as it officially kicks off the regular season next week.
Doesn’t this sound all too familiar to three years ago?
For everything that has been written and said about the success of this year’s World Baseball Classic, it sounds very similar to the same hype baseball experienced in 2023: a year filled with excitement entering the season but producing very little return during it. Will MLB take the lessons of the past and avoid repeating them in 2026?
Let’s take a stroll back to 2023. The World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Japan drew record viewership. Last night’s final between the USA and Venezuela will likely top that mark. Three years ago, the tournament was hailed as a celebration of the game, with the best players and brightest stars battling for the right to call themselves the best in the world.
Again, sound familiar?
MLB envisioned the tournament as a global phenomenon, a World Cup of baseball, especially since the Olympics have featured the sport only once since 2008. Following the tournament’s conclusion, as Japan held the trophy for a record third time, many speculated about what impact it would have on interest in MLB.
Overall, in 2023, regional sports network viewership of Major League Baseball increased by 7%, according to Forbes. Sixteen MLB clubs saw gains in viewership, while 10 showed declines and three were flat year over year.
The immediate aftermath of the 2023 World Baseball Classic also included MLB’s first installation of the pitch clock, among other new rules. Viewership on Opening Day increased 42% on MLB.TV, while FOX Sports and ESPN’s first weekend of MLB action saw viewership rise by double digits.
In retrospect, the positive vibes didn’t last all season. In 2023, MLB also recorded a low point in viewership for the All-Star Game and the lowest viewership ever for the World Series.
It was a mixed bag by many standards, but after an immediate bump, the sport couldn’t hold onto the national interest the World Baseball Classic generated.
This year, the same questions arise now that the World Baseball Classic has concluded. Can MLB keep the momentum the tournament provided during the stretch between the conclusion of the Winter Olympics and March Madness? Three years ago, the World Baseball Classic didn’t follow a record-setting Winter Olympic games.
This year, the challenges are different. There are no new rules to speed up the pace of play that baseball fans have not already grown accustomed to. ABS will only find ways to slow down a game that has already seen many attempts to accelerate play. Also, this will be the first year in which baseball fans may have more difficulty figuring out where to watch games than in previous seasons.
NBC Sports and Peacock will have baseball for the first time since the turn of the century. Nine Major League Baseball teams left their regional sports network agreements with Main Street Sports Group. Some have announced destinations for fans to watch games through distribution deals, while others are still left with a .TV option that requires fans to pay more to stream games.
That’s a disruption many could not have foreseen just three years ago.
Netflix will also be a player this year with Major League Baseball. In fact, the first baseball game of the season won’t air on a traditional network of any kind. The season opens on a streaming service where the content lives behind a paywall. Is that making the game more accessible for fans in an effort to capitalize on World Baseball Classic momentum?
Make no mistake about it: baseball is in a good spot.
Last year marked the third straight season in which MLB saw an increase in attendance. That came even with two teams playing in minor league stadiums. While the official 2025 revenue total has yet to be released, many speculate that MLB posted another record revenue year above the $12.1 billion generated in 2024.
The league also saw double-digit increases in national television viewership and posted a strong audience for the World Series with the Dodgers’ involvement against the Toronto Blue Jays.
There was already momentum for MLB heading into 2026, even without a World Baseball Classic to fuel the hype machine. But with a looming lockout likely in December, MLB will be tested like never before in 2026 as it tries to carry that momentum throughout the entire regular season and playoffs.
The difference this time is simple: baseball doesn’t need another spike by a World Baseball Classic. It needs staying power.
Three years ago, the World Baseball Classic proved the sport could still command global attention. It delivered stars, drama, and moments that felt bigger than the game itself. But once the calendar flipped to the regular season, that energy faded into the background of a long, regionalized grind.
That can’t happen again.
This year’s tournament didn’t just remind people why baseball matters. It reintroduced the sport to an audience constantly being pulled in a dozen different directions. The challenge now isn’t creating interest. It’s maintaining it. It’s making sure the casual fan who tuned in for Team USA, Japan, or Venezuela in March still has a reason to care in May, July, and September.
Because momentum in today’s sports landscape doesn’t carry itself.
With a more fragmented viewing experience, new media partners, and no major rule changes left to jolt curiosity, Major League Baseball can’t rely on novelty to drive engagement. It has to connect the emotion of the World Baseball Classic to the everyday rhythm of the regular season and do it intentionally.
If 2023 was about proving the World Baseball Classic could matter, 2026 is about proving it can last.
Otherwise, baseball risks once again creating a global moment, only to watch it disappear by summer.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
