The Cubs series was a huge boost and some of those fans were retained last year. But even then, the viewership numbers are only now getting back to where they were in 2004. And that is only a portion of what was viewing the games back in the 1980s. Now, the NBA was also better rated in the 80s, so some of that could have been technology that knocked the numbers down. But the NBA is trending up or maintaining over the last ten years, whereas MLB was in a clear decline until 2016. And as Mike said - it's the casual fans that keep you relevant. I'm an NHL fan but I'll be the first to admit it's a niche sport relative to MLB, NFL, and NBA in part because it almost completely composed of die-hards and far fewer casual fans. I'd prefer baseball not fall into that category.