Is Anybody Watching? Twins See Sharp Decline In TV Viewers

[Mike Sixel]

I don't, but then I live in OR and have zero interest in paying to listen or watch sports at this point in my life......

If I had access to watch MLB more often, I'm not sure I would. Partly because I've gone from watching a ton of sports to doing more fun things with my life. But, mostly, as has been pointed out, the excitement of the game is greatly reduced. I'll use soccer as an example....the issue isn't lack of goals, it is lack of real scoring opportunities (this is the issue for those that say soccer is boring). 

The same is happening in baseball. Steals don't make sense, so they don't happen. Teams know that HRs lead to more runs scored than 2 singles, so they teach hitting HRs. Pitchers and teams have figured out that using math and science makes them better at their job. There just isn't much action, and there often wasn't before either. Now it is just worse.

Finally, games last too long to hold my interest. Other than a great book and sports I do myself, few things hold my interest for 3+ hours these days. Hitters step out of the box, look for the sign (which is silly, the sign is hit the ball hard), the pitcher shakes the catcher off, about a million seconds later there is a pitch. Then do it again. And again. 

I don't know the fix, frankly. Bad announcing isn't it. Whining about the game isn't. Bad mouthing the sport by owners, ex players, and announcers isn't.

[LA Vikes Fan]

I really like the realignment idea assuming we're going to a universal DH. I'll post this as a separate blog, but here's my proposal for realignment. I know it's fantasy but hey, it's the dog days of summer so why not? 

5 divisions, not 6. 12 teams in the playoffs, The top 2 in each division plus two remaining teams teams with best records make the playoffs so there is a reward for being a little better than average. Four best records get byes while the other 8 play 3 games series down to 4. The remaining 8 teams (4 with byes plus 4 first round winners) re-seed by record, not location.  During the regular season you play all of the teams in three of the other four divisions 6 times each, 3 at home, 3 away.  That's 108 games (6 times 18 - 6 teams in each division). You play the remaining games in your division. You play 11 games each year against your 5 division opponents, except one only 10 times, for 54 games, total 162. Alternatively, add a game and rotate the unbalanced 81 home/82 away schedules in each division. You could rotate through the division the one team that you "only" play 10 times and you'll have to rotate each you which team gets the extra home game, 2 you get the extra, 2 your opponent, to balance the schedule.

Division are by location to create/enhance rivalries:

West Coast Division - San Diego, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, San Francisco, Oakland/Vegas, Seattle

Southwest/Rocky mountain Division - Houston, Texas (Dallas), Arizona, Kansas City, St. Louis, Colorado (Denver)

Midwest Division -  Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Detroit, Pittsburg or Toronto (bummer that Twins are in a different time zone, but couldn't figure out a way to fix that)

Southeast Division -  Miami, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Washington, Cincinnati, Cleveland or Baltimore (depends on whether you want the Ohio or Beltway rivalry)

Northeast Division - Boston, NY Yankees, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburg or Toronto, Cleveland or Baltimore     

You rotate through the other divisions in the regular season. One year, the Twins play the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest, next year the Southeast, Southwest, West Coast, next year the Southwest, West Coast, Northeast, etc. That away the existing rivalries that are being broken up still play 6 games against each other 3 out of every 4 years like the Cubs and Cardinals. Those will fade over time; the Cubs new hated rival will be the White Sox, the Cards, the Royals.  

What do you guys think?

[wsnydes]

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that there are many of us that enjoy talking about sports, baseball in this instance, more than we do actually enjoy watching it.  Fascinating.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that there are many of us that enjoy talking about sports, baseball in this instance, more than we do actually enjoy watching it.  Fascinating.

That is me, 100%. I'm really down to the NFL, and even that is not every week anymore.....Along with the occasional golf or soccer match (mostly weather dependent, though not totally).

To be clear, I want the Twins to win, and I find that more fun, but I have little need to watch a regular season game. I can see what is happening on gamecast....and let's be honest, 80% of pitches are as exciting on gamecast as they are in seen.

[LewFordLives]

In the past I would watch 75% or more games per year. The last couple years, maybe  a third to half. A few reasons...

1. We welcomed a small child to our household, which has been a big timesink.

2. This team has been lackluster to say the least. Even when they make the playoffs it seems like they just go through the motions. I blame Baldelli.

3. Who can devote 3-4 hours a night to watching a game?  They need to tell these kids to get the ball and pitch. Stop messing around out there.

[wsnydes]

Just now, Mike Sixel said:

That is me, 100%. I'm really down to the NFL, and even that is not every week anymore.....Along with the occasional golf or soccer match (mostly weather dependent, though not totally).

This is becoming me more and more with each passing year.  I used to be so heavy into the NFL that I think I literally burned myself out on it.  Now, you couldn't pay me to watch it.  I don't really like how the game has evolved (sound familiar?) and it bores me to no end.  I soured on the NBA before that.  Now I'm souring on MLB.  I do still enjoy college sports more, but I'm down to basically watching big matchups and my alma mater for football.  I still watch quite a bit of college basketball though.  I do enjoy hockey, but since I'm a cord cutter...

I still watch quite a bit of golf, particularly on Sunday afternoons.  I watch the PGA, LPGA, European Tours, whatever.  I enjoy watching golf.  It's perfect to settle down leading into a new work week and catch a nap on the couch with it on.

[luckylager]

I am curious as to how many have given the finger to greedy cable/streaming providers and are viewing the games through other "underground" channels? I may know at least a few who do. Maybe. 

[tony&rodney]

I have been a baseball fan all of my life or as far back as I can remember which does include the 1961 Twins. Because I played sports and coached also, I left watching tv sports, everything but baseball behind a long time ago. Football bores me. We all have different reasons for our habits and I enjoy the pitcher-batter confrontation. I do not have a tv any longer and now listen to the Twins games on the radio. I do watch about 5 games per week of other teams on mlb.com. The game is still worthwhile to me but there has been years of corporate influence that is annoying. Politics has always been a part of baseball. Why would we play the national anthem before each game or have the silly mid seventh inning patriotism? How many of you have those things every day at work? These don't bother me but we should know that politics has been in baseball for far longer than 100 years; not much change in that area. One specific area that has changed is the time between pitches. I hate legislating things but perhaps a simple pitch clock would help all of baseball. Nevertheless, a well-played 3-4 game is far superior to a sloppy 2-3 hour game. Lastly, it is certainly possible that the pandemic has changed the habits of many people. I just came in from cruising around in my kayak for three hours and wasn't bored for a second. Despite my utter disdain for the high school rules of Manfredball and that abomination, I will remain a baseball and Twins fan listening and watching some daily while keeping track of the boxscores.

 

[mikelink45]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I live in the cities, work in baseball analytics, have MLB.tv and BSN, have Twins season tickets, used to watch or attend 150+ Twins games a year while watching on average 1 other game a day, but have watched maybe a dozen non-Twins games this year to go along with maybe 2 dozen Twins games. Three true outcome baseball with shifts taking away baserunners constantly, the aversion to base stealing, and every AB seemingly taking 8 pitches to get to the inevitable K, BB, or HR is ruining the product. And it feels like there's more plodding corner OFers now that are there for their ability to hit balls 450ft without a care to defense. The athleticism of the game overall feels lesser and that's less entertaining.

People tune into sports to see people do things the rest of us can't. Like run real fast and jump real high. I'll watch a game featuring Buxton, Acuna, Tatis, Trout, Ohtani type guys even if their team is bad because their athleticism is incredible on it's own. The efficiency of front offices has taken away a lot of the excitement in the game because they've reduced the need for athleticism.

If the Twins were better I'd watch them more. I'm a prospect watcher so as they call guys up I'll tune in to see how they look at the big league level, and if/when Buxton comes back I'll tune in to watch him. Have a few more games to attend to pretend I'm getting value out of my season tickets, but Twins baseball (and baseball in general) is no longer appointment viewing for me and I'm about as diehard and dedicated to the game as anyone you'll find. The pandemic changed things and any work stoppage over the CBA may be a deathblow to MLB as we know it. It'll still be around, but will be down by hockey in terms of popularity.

Long post and will end with this, MLB is a regional sport and they're doing themselves no favors by having the Twins play the Brewers only 6 or 7 times a year. Build regional rivalries across the leagues and spread the talent out more. Have to get people to tune into games outside their region and give other franchises a better chance to build a national brand so every ESPN game isn't either a Yankee or Dodgers game.

I agree with so much of what you say that a simple like was not enough.  Thanks for saying this before I had to write a too long diatribe.

[mikelink45]

I have always been a radio fan - living up north that was always better and since the sixties the progressive lengthening of games made watching them ridiculous.  I have way too many things I want to do which is where radio comes in.  However, this year because I had higher hopes I subscribed to MLB.com tv for the first and last time.  Bally Sports has it all blacked out so if I am going to listen to radio all year why am I paying for tv?  No I do not have regular tv service.

And like others I find the game too long.  Too many pitching delays, relief pitchers... With all the counts going 5 - 10 pitches long the ABs are boring too without the threat of stealing, hit and run or other quick and exciting plays.  

I could care less about exit velocity and HR length.  They all count the same.  

Statistics are no longer the fascinating thing I loved to follow.  Who cares who has the most K's?  Pitcher/batter does not matter there are too many and no one cares.  The PEDs ruined the HR.  The three true outcomes makes it a homerun derby instead of a strategic game. 

Give me a two hour game - yes, give it a length and quit whether the third or the ninth inning. Limit RP to three per game - designated in advance.  

To say it is not the game of my youth is obvious, but it is not the game of twenty years ago either and it is not going to change by the rules that are being negotiated.  

I do not care how many millions a player is paid, but I really do hate the lack of loyalty - both team and players. 

I have listened to 80% of the games this year.  Next year it will be less and while BB is trying to figure out how to attract the younger viewer it is also losing us old regulars. 

[Vanimal46]

50 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that there are many of us that enjoy talking about sports, baseball in this instance, more than we do actually enjoy watching it.  Fascinating.

I still love talking and reading about sports. Even from an early age I would wake up in the morning and go read the box scores from yesterday’s games in the newspaper. And check out the league leader stat categories. 

If football wasn’t so tied seamlessly with fantasy sports, I don’t know if I would be as big of a fan. I guess I’ll test that theory out as I’ll only be doing 1 long time fantasy league this year instead of multiple teams. 

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Yeah, I’d watch more Twins games. I probably wouldn’t watch more baseball, though, and I usually catch a few interesting non-Twins games a week. 

Same here... I've watched probably 95% of the Twins game this year, even though I'm a cord cutter as well. The internet is a beautiful thing. I watch the Twins as much as I can, regardless of if they win or not. 

I haven't watched other baseball games for several years. I don't watch the games on ESPN or the Saturday game of the week or anything. People are always shocked to hear that I don't really watch much of the playoffs (except for Game 7s and I try to watch more of the World Series. 

I understand why it doesn't happen, but I enjoyed watching the game so much more when stuff happened. Homers. Strikeouts. A few walks... and some other stuff. I like the 'put the ball in play' game from a watchability standpoint. The playoffs became unwatchable when there were 3-4 pitching changes per inning. Games are so long.

Frankly, I just flip to Netflix or Amazon or Hulu or Peacock or other streaming shows or something on YouTube TV. But yeah, I can't not watch the Twins. I am a diehard... I just don't watch anyone else. That said, I wasn't going to pay more to go back to cable either. 

[wsnydes]

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

I still love talking and reading about sports. Even from an early age I would wake up in the morning and go read the box scores from yesterday’s games in the newspaper. And check out the league leader stat categories. 

If football wasn’t so tied seamlessly with fantasy sports, I don’t know if I would be as big of a fan. I guess I’ll test that theory out as I’ll only be doing 1 long time fantasy league this year instead of multiple teams. 

I was similar.  Sportscenter used to be my alarm clock.  That's back when it was 30 minutes long and pure highlights instead of what it became.  If it weren't for CBB and the occasional CFB game, I'd never watch ESPN anymore either.

At one point, I was in 5 fantasy football leagues plus two pick 'em leagues.  It consumed me.  The research, the lineup evaluation and prep.  I lived it.  I think that's a really big reason for why I burned myself out.  I ceased to be entertainment and became all about winning.  I gradually left the leagues until I quit entirely.  I've never missed it.

I too still love talking about sports.  Even the NFL.  i'm not as informed on it, but there's so much media coverage it's hard to evade it.  I can't really talk about the NBA though.  I'm far too removed from that and since the Wolves are perpetually not good, it's easier to avoid NBA coverage.

[Twinsrtheworst]

I've gone to spring training every year for 8 years running..including start of last years.  I live out of market and pay decent money to access there games.  I've watched over 90% of the games in last 4 years..either live or dvr.  This year I havnt watched a game since June 1.  Last 2 years broke me I think do to not going for it at the deadline for a pitcher no matter the cost... and hoarding prospects.  Feel like my team broke me.  May not be rational, but it's my truth.  We had a good team in 2019, never supplemented the roster.  Lost lots of respect for Rocco along the way.  Probably won't respond until a change is made in manager position.  He adds nothing to a really good team and makes bad teams worse.  But hey.

[In My La Z boy]

I'll keep watching. Lifelong Twins baseball fan. Been through a lot of rough ones. This year as rough as they come. My wife of 35 years may be the only one that understands why, but I am a Twins fan, and my job is to show up and cheer. And I do. I did finally last week stop watching Rocco's post game press conference. That is a first. Normally I am 150+ games per year pre-game to post-game. They are wearing me down. Actually skipped pre-game last night. 

[Twinsrtheworst]

1 minute ago, In My La Z boy said:

I'll keep watching. Lifelong Twins baseball fan. Been through a lot of rough ones. This year as rough as they come. My wife of 35 years may be the only one that understands why, but I am a Twins fan, and my job is to show up and cheer. And I do. I did finally last week stop watching Rocco's post game press conference. That is a first. Normally I am 150+ games per year pre-game to post-game. They are wearing me down. Actually skipped pre-game last night. 

Honestly, I can take a bad season...like this year.  But I can not listen or support Rocco.  Be great if he proves me wrong, but he couldn't lead a horse to water.

[Twinsrtheworst]

1 hour ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I really like the realignment idea assuming we're going to a universal DH. I'll post this as a separate blog, but here's my proposal for realignment. I know it's fantasy but hey, it's the dog days of summer so why not? 

5 divisions, not 6. 12 teams in the playoffs, The top 2 in each division plus two remaining teams teams with best records make the playoffs so there is a reward for being a little better than average. Four best records get byes while the other 8 play 3 games series down to 4. The remaining 8 teams (4 with byes plus 4 first round winners) re-seed by record, not location.  During the regular season you play all of the teams in three of the other four divisions 6 times each, 3 at home, 3 away.  That's 108 games (6 times 18 - 6 teams in each division). You play the remaining games in your division. You play 11 games each year against your 5 division opponents, except one only 10 times, for 54 games, total 162. Alternatively, add a game and rotate the unbalanced 81 home/82 away schedules in each division. You could rotate through the division the one team that you "only" play 10 times and you'll have to rotate each you which team gets the extra home game, 2 you get the extra, 2 your opponent, to balance the schedule.

Division are by location to create/enhance rivalries:

West Coast Division - San Diego, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, San Francisco, Oakland/Vegas, Seattle

Southwest/Rocky mountain Division - Houston, Texas (Dallas), Arizona, Kansas City, St. Louis, Colorado (Denver)

Midwest Division -  Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Detroit, Pittsburg or Toronto (bummer that Twins are in a different time zone, but couldn't figure out a way to fix that)

Southeast Division -  Miami, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Washington, Cincinnati, Cleveland or Baltimore (depends on whether you want the Ohio or Beltway rivalry)

Northeast Division - Boston, NY Yankees, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburg or Toronto, Cleveland or Baltimore     

You rotate through the other divisions in the regular season. One year, the Twins play the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest, next year the Southeast, Southwest, West Coast, next year the Southwest, West Coast, Northeast, etc. That away the existing rivalries that are being broken up still play 6 games against each other 3 out of every 4 years like the Cubs and Cardinals. Those will fade over time; the Cubs new hated rival will be the White Sox, the Cards, the Royals.  

What do you guys think?

Ok so no AL and Nl?  Or one has 3 divisions one has 2?  How do you do this with separate leagues?  Have to keep Nl and AL separate.

[LA Vikes Fan]

9 minutes ago, se7799 said:

Ok so no AL and Nl?  Or one has 3 divisions one has 2?  How do you do this with separate leagues?  Have to keep Nl and AL separate.

You don't. There is no separate Al and NL under my proposal. Just one MLB. 

[Unwinder]

As a relatively new fan (I only really got into baseball in 2019) I feel like my perspective is probably pretty different from most here.

I would say that the main reason I'm not watching baseball on a regular basis is that it's too difficult/expensive to do so. If there was some way that I could casually switch on a game without thinking about it, I would probably do it when I don't have anything else going on on a given evening.

I have watched two Twins games this year. I watched one in a bar, and the other was at Target Field. I have caught partial games at bars and restaurants.

I don't have cable (or even regular broadcast TV) and don't want to pay for cable. I've seen some fans on here say "just spring for MLB.tv," and that's a perfectly fine solution if you've been watching baseball for years and it's worth it to you, but no casual fan or newcomer is going to pay that subscription fee (or get cable) simply because they're curious about baseball.

Ultimately, you just can't get young people interested in something that they need to go behind a paywall to even get a taste of. There's too much free entertainment out there. People in their twenties would rather watch Youtube than subscribe to Netflix. There is currently no equivalent to just turning on any old TV and tuning into the game. You need to choose to pay for baseball before you can figure out if you like baseball. There's no entry point for viewers who are just mildly curious (except for a few free games on Youtube which allow you to watch the home team just a few times a year).

I dragged my teenage foster daughter to a Saints game earlier this summer, and after complaining the whole week before, and complaining the whole way there about how baseball is boring, she loved it. When she saw it, it clicked for her. She was absolutely captivated by it. The sport has not lost its ability to enchant young people. If you put it in front of them, they'll still get invested in it, it's just not conveniently available.

Many of you have lost some interest due to changes in the game - The shift, three-true-outcomes hitting, longer games, etc. While I don't doubt that games may have been more interesting before these changes took place, I had no problem getting into the game during the Bomba Squad era. (in fact, the first player who I got excited to root for was Miguel Sano). I certainly wouldn't mind a faster-paced version of the game, but the current game has been perfectly sufficient for me to enjoy it, even as a social-media-addicted millennial. I'm also not losing interest now that the Twins are having a rough year and have a rough path ahead.

Currently I follow games on Twitter, read recaps on this blog, and occasionally tune in on the radio when I remember to do it. I've been to six Saints games this year, and will probably be able to make two or three more (if I'm going to watch prospects, I might as well go where I can afford good seats).

I don't want to pay for a subscription if I don't know how much I'm going to use it. Based on my personality (and I can't speak for all younger/casual fans here), the best way for MLB to get me to pay to watch baseball would be to provide a way to watch individual games for the price of a movie rental instead of requiring a subscription. But this would not appeal to me if I wasn't already following baseball. In order to hook new viewers, they need to bite the bullet and make regular (not necessarily all) games available for all teams for free (with commercials as needed) on a platform people already use. Which shouldn't be impossible, since they used to do it on TV and it doesn't seem like they went bankrupt then.

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

I still love talking and reading about sports. Even from an early age I would wake up in the morning and go read the box scores from yesterday’s games in the newspaper. And check out the league leader stat categories. 

If football wasn’t so tied seamlessly with fantasy sports, I don’t know if I would be as big of a fan. I guess I’ll test that theory out as I’ll only be doing 1 long time fantasy league this year instead of multiple teams. 

After the PED era I lost interest in the box scores and then the K/BB/HR era came and I have not looked at one in the last three years except to follow the game on-line.  

 

[Unwinder]

On the other hand, I think baseball does have one inherent disadvantage in grabbing people's attention compared with other sports in that you can watch a whole game to see a star player and it's kind of a crapshoot if you'll get to see them do something cool or not.

If you watch a basketball game to see Lebron James, Lebron will probably do at least one cool thing. Probably several cool things. If you watch a football game to see Tom Brady, he will get plenty of chances to throw the ball far. He'll try to do something cool every play.

If you watch a baseball game to see Shohei Ohtani play DH, he'll get four or five shots to do something cool over the course of three hours. He might hit a couple of homers, or he might walk twice, strikeout once, and ground into a double play.

I imagine this can be frustrating for curious new viewers tuning in because they heard some good buzz about a superstar player.

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, Unwinder said:

As a relatively new fan (I only really got into baseball in 2019) I feel like my perspective is probably pretty different from most here.

I would say that the main reason I'm not watching baseball on a regular basis is that it's too difficult/expensive to do so. If there was some way that I could casually switch on a game without thinking about it, I would probably do it when I don't have anything else going on on a given evening.

I have watched two Twins games this year. I watched one in a bar, and the other was at Target Field. I have caught partial games at bars and restaurants.

I don't have cable (or even regular broadcast TV) and don't want to pay for cable. I've seen some fans on here say "just spring for MLB.tv," and that's a perfectly fine solution if you've been watching baseball for years and it's worth it to you, but no casual fan or newcomer is going to pay that subscription fee (or get cable) simply because they're curious about baseball.

Ultimately, you just can't get young people interested in something that they need to go behind a paywall to even get a taste of. There's too much free entertainment out there. People in their twenties would rather watch Youtube than subscribe to Netflix. There is currently no equivalent to just turning on any old TV and tuning into the game. You need to choose to pay for baseball before you can figure out if you like baseball. There's no entry point for viewers who are just mildly curious (except for a few free games on Youtube which allow you to watch the home team just a few times a year).

I dragged my teenage foster daughter to a Saints game earlier this summer, and after complaining the whole week before, and complaining the whole way there about how baseball is boring, she loved it. When she saw it, it clicked for her. She was absolutely captivated by it. The sport has not lost its ability to enchant young people. If you put it in front of them, they'll still get invested in it, it's just not conveniently available.

Many of you have lost some interest due to changes in the game - The shift, three-true-outcomes hitting, longer games, etc. While I don't doubt that games may have been more interesting before these changes took place, I had no problem getting into the game during the Bomba Squad era. (in fact, the first player who I got excited to root for was Miguel Sano). I certainly wouldn't mind a faster-paced version of the game, but the current game has been perfectly sufficient for me to enjoy it, even as a social-media-addicted millennial. I'm also not losing interest now that the Twins are having a rough year and have a rough path ahead.

Currently I follow games on Twitter, read recaps on this blog, and occasionally tune in on the radio when I remember to do it. I've been to six Saints games this year, and will probably be able to make two or three more (if I'm going to watch prospects, I might as well go where I can afford good seats).

I don't want to pay for a subscription if I don't know how much I'm going to use it. Based on my personality (and I can't speak for all younger/casual fans here), the best way for MLB to get me to pay to watch baseball would be to provide a way to watch individual games for the price of a movie rental instead of requiring a subscription. But this would not appeal to me if I wasn't already following baseball. In order to hook new viewers, they need to bite the bullet and make regular (not necessarily all) games available for all teams for free (with commercials as needed) on a platform people already use. Which shouldn't be impossible, since they used to do it on TV and it doesn't seem like they went bankrupt then.

You bring up excellent points. I’m 31 and wouldn’t spend full price for MLB.tv. I split it with 3 other people to make the cost more reasonable. No way, no how will a casual fan pay over $100 for content they may not care about. Not when there’s so many platforms competing for our time and eyes. 

I believe MLB is the only sport completely behind a paywall. They used to have a weekly game on FOX, but I haven’t seen that in years. The free YouTube game is few and far between. 

I think the growth for the future will come from non traditional ways. The challenge of spending 3+ hours watching a full game will always remain. I’m encouraged with the growth of independent media companies like Jomboy, and online influencers like PitchingNinja. They’ll spark more interest in the game than watching the game on TV. 

[Battle ur tail off]

I don't watch as much as I used to either. Alot of it is the fact that my daughter plays travel softball. Let me tell you this. It is a much better game to watch. Pitcher gets the sign and goes. Lots of running, bunting, hitting fielding, old school type ball. 

These girls play 10x harder than what I see on an MLB field. The game only goes 7 innings and most are done within an hour, hour and half. 

 

Baseball is losing viewers IMO, because it is too long and the game is too slow. Also, the #1 reason IMO, is that everyone knows it is not setup fair. It is huge in east coast markets and LA where all the best players are paid 100x more than they are worth. Across the rest of the league though, fans know many times before the season even starts that their team has zero chance. In short, WAY MORE have nots, than haves. 

[Unwinder]

4 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

 

I believe MLB is the only sport completely behind a paywall. They used to have a weekly game on FOX, but I haven’t seen that in years. The free YouTube game is few and far between. 

 

What's ridiculous to me is that they paywall everything, yet they play more games than any other sport. You'd think they could spare a few!

[Vanimal46]

5 minutes ago, Unwinder said:

What's ridiculous to me is that they paywall everything, yet they play more games than any other sport. You'd think they could spare a few!

Absolutely. Bottom line, they need to lower the bar for entry to watch their product. I’m sure a major reason why football is king is because only 1 game out of their 14-15 weekly games are behind a paywall. The rest is over the air for free. 

I’m as casual of a soccer fan as you can get now that Austin has an MLS team. If they weren’t on an over the air TV channel, there’s no chance I would seek it out to watch. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

51 minutes ago, Unwinder said:

I don't want to pay for a subscription if I don't know how much I'm going to use it. Based on my personality (and I can't speak for all younger/casual fans here), the best way for MLB to get me to pay to watch baseball would be to provide a way to watch individual games for the price of a movie rental instead of requiring a subscription. But this would not appeal to me if I wasn't already following baseball. In order to hook new viewers, they need to bite the bullet and make regular (not necessarily all) games available for all teams for free (with commercials as needed) on a platform people already use. Which shouldn't be impossible, since they used to do it on TV and it doesn't seem like they went bankrupt then.

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Note that MLB.TV usually offers at least one free game every day -- no subscription required. Available in the MLB app on every phone, tablet, and TV box, right alongside apps like Netflix, etc.

They also do a free game every week on YouTube with no blackouts -- the next one is Twins vs White Sox next Wednesday August 11 -- although it appears that most of these are weekday day games.

[Unwinder]

2 minutes ago, Otto von Ballpark said:

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Note that MLB.TV usually offers at least one free game every day -- no subscription required. Available in the MLB app on every phone, tablet, and TV box, right alongside apps like Netflix, etc.

They also do a free game every week on YouTube with no blackouts -- the next one is Twins vs White Sox next Wednesday August 11 -- although it appears that most of these are weekday day games.

That certainly sounds generous on paper, but if I only care about Twins games that's what, one every couple of weeks?

[Otto von Ballpark]

19 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I believe MLB is the only sport completely behind a paywall. They used to have a weekly game on FOX, but I haven’t seen that in years. The free YouTube game is few and far between. 

Not true -- see my post above. There is a free national YouTube game every week, a free MLB.TV game virtually every day (although blackouts still apply), plus the occasional FOX game. ABC carried a playoff game last year and is getting Sunday Night Baseball this weekend. Also, the MLB All-Star Game and World Series are still free on FOX.

By comparison, in basketball, I think the 2021 NBA All-Star Game was only on TNT (cable), and there's no free games streaming in NBA League Pass, For hockey. Games 1 and 2 of the NHL finals were only on cable too; NHL.TV does a handful of free games only every few weeks.

[Vanimal46]

11 minutes ago, Otto von Ballpark said:

Not true -- see my post above. There is a free national YouTube game every week, a free MLB.TV game virtually every day (although blackouts still apply), plus the occasional FOX game. ABC carried a playoff game last year and is getting Sunday Night Baseball this weekend. Also, the MLB All-Star Game and World Series are still free on FOX.

By comparison, in basketball, I think the 2021 NBA All-Star Game was only on TNT (cable), and there's no free games streaming in NBA League Pass, For hockey. Games 1 and 2 of the NHL finals were only on cable too; NHL.TV does a handful of free games only every few weeks.

That’s good… But as you said above, the free YouTube game of the day is weekday game days. Not exactly prime time to get kids’ eyes on it. School’s right around the corner, and most have their own activities during the day. 

[RickOShea]

I find it interesting how much time everyone bitches and moans (myself included) about everything.  When is the last time a positive comment was passed on concerning the mechanics of the game?  Sure as shooting, some will answer "There aren't any".  It's all about perspective.   I don't have to be entertained every minute I watch TV.  Many a time I watch what my daughter watches.  Not out of interest, other than doing something together without it costing an arm and a leg.  Truth be told, I do find some of her reality shows to have value, even if it is comedic (to me).

I look forward to daily Twins games.  It's something to look forward to throughout the day, and it's my time, in my den alone.  I often, pay bills, scan the internet, or work on projects.  I don't have to be highly entertained, but it helps when some good baseball is being played and the Twins win.