MLB All-Star Viewership Jumps 22% to Highest Since 2018

The Midsummer Classic appears to have regained its footing in the television ratings battle. Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game averaged 8.79 million viewers on Fox Sports, marking a significant turnaround from last year’s event. The audience represents a 22% increase compared to the 7.2 million viewers recorded in the previous installment, reaching the highest viewership level for the game since 2018.

The surge in interest comes despite the notable absence of high-profile players such as Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. Analysts suggest that a strong lead-in program likely contributed to the improved metrics. Preliminary data indicates that the broadcast was preceded by Tuesday afternoon’s FIFA World Cup semifinal match between Spain and France, which drew an average of 11.46 million viewers on the network.

The ratings boost allows Major League Baseball to reclaim its status as the most-watched all-star event among major U.S. sports, though the margin is slim. While the NBA shifted its format to a round-robin tournament and moved coverage to NBC Sports platforms earlier this year, MLB remains competitive. Excluding Spanish-language coverage, the MLB All-Star Game averaged 8.675 million English-language viewers, edging out the 8.46 million English-language audience for the NBA All-Star Game in February.

On the commercial side, the event generated robust financial activity in Philadelphia. MLB reported a 45% increase in merchandise sales at the All-Star Village fan festival compared to last year, setting a new event record. When factoring in sales from Citizens Bank Park and online channels, total merchandise volume matched records set during the 2022 event in Los Angeles. Fan engagement was also high, with the All-Star Village recording an attendance of 111,616, the best figure since the Los Angeles event four years ago.

The broadcast performance provides a positive data point for Fox Corporation, which saw its shares climb 2.53% to $56.81 on the day. The company remains a key player in the sports media landscape through its Cable Network Programming segment. Meanwhile, Comcast Corporation, which owns the NBC Sports platforms that carried the NBA All-Star Game, also saw its stock rise 2.55% to $24.10.

What to watch

• Future viewership trends for MLB when star players are active participants.
• Fox Corporation’s upcoming quarterly earnings to assess advertising revenue from sports broadcasts.
• NBA ratings performance next season following the format change.

Source: original release