Even with a month of World Cup disruption, MLB fans have continued to tune in for local games this season -- and fans seem to be coming back to White Sox game telecasts. Looking at games through the Round of 32 at the World Cup, 75% of those matches were topped by the aggregate local audience for MLB games head-to-head.
“It really hasn’t had the profound impact that we thought it might,” said Playfly Sports CEO Craig Sloan. “If 75% [of World Cup matches] were still below what we deliver on baseball nightly, people really will get the idea of how much baseball scales on this local aggregate model and how important it is to the ecosystem of baseball.”
To date, 78% of all MLB consumption among the advertiser-friendly demo of adults 18-49 continues to come through local telecasts.
Sloan noted DTC adoption for fans also continues to outpace expectations. There’s been a 24% increase in unique viewership on team DTC platforms to date, and a 43% jump in minutes consumed (up to an average of around 104 minutes per game). Sloan noted that figure is well above streaming of MLB games for platforms like ESPN, Fox One or HBO Max.
Digging in to teams
The White Sox are leading all MLB teams in terms of gains, adding over 18,000 TV homes this season to date for games on Chicago Sports Network. A combination of factors have aided in that lift, including the White Sox’s surprise run to first place in the AL Central. But perhaps the biggest increase continues to come from the distribution deal with Comcast in the Chicago market.
Rounding out the top teams in terms of gains are the Guardians, Brewers, Dodgers and Padres.
Teams seeing declines include big-market clubs like the Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets and Tigers.
But Sloan noted that Playfly research shows around 20 teams could still be in the hunt for Wild Card spots. When September starts, it could mean accelerated ratings for many clubs that are down right now.
