MLB postseason TV ratings are the highest since 2010.
October 15, 2025
MLB postseason TV ratings are the highest since 2010.
50 comments
New teams are exciting
Brewers are must watch TV as we all expected
our friends up north are watching?
The Blue Jays-Mariners effect
Turns out starved fan bases are better for viewership than big markets
Who knew having a majority of teams that the general baseball fandom would want to root for actually increases viewership?!
That’s because there are finally new teams in it
We can thank the Astros and Braves for collapsing
But I thought the brewers and mariners going far would absolutely kill viewership?
I’m guessing its mainly because of the Blue Jays since all of Canada watches them
When the biggest market team like the Brewers makes it this far, is there really any question why?
I’VE SAID THIS ONCE AND I’LL SAY IT 1,000 MORE TIMES. BASEBALL IS NOT A DYING SPORT
new teams + actual streaming accessibility. i can watch all the TBS games on HBO max instead of paying a bunch for cable
Perfect. Players got their big ammo for no salary caps in the next CBA
The first 2 rounds this year had sort of a perfect combination of big markets + small and mid market teams who have been around long enough to have generational fanbases and a legitimate diaspora
You simply don’t get this most years, it’s usually 2-4 teams hard carrying and if those teams get eliminated you wind up with a World Series no one cares about. Regardless of who wins the ALCS and NLCS this year, that won’t be the case.
Rule changes helped a lot to make the game more watchable
Also, the fact that I can go watch a Dodgers postseason game for $80 is amazing. Most other sports are way more expensive
Thank you Canada
And this doesn’t even include Japan….
(I love that this is a search result for “Canada”)
Nielsen recently updated how they do their ratings.
Ratings up just in time for the owners to force a lockout.
2010?
Ah. Good year
Everyone in Japan is in
Honestly, I’ve got a lot of gripes with the MLB (ad creep, expense, lack of parity, diminished in-person experience, etc.), but you can’t deny the sport is in a great spot these last couple years vs. most of the 2010s.
Exciting young talent. The 2023 rule changes (except the ghost runner, imo) have been a huge boon.
This year playoffs have been so fun, too. Anyone claiming otherwise just hasn’t been watching.
This doesn’t even include the roughly 10% of Canada watching each Jays game
Pace of play rules have helped. Nobody wants to see an at bat take 10 minutes with batters adjusting their batting gloves after every pitch, pitchers calling time every 2 pitches.
How can it be? I thought the Dodgers ruined baseball….
Mariners and Blue Jays fans are insatiable.
I mean let’s see why.
Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies are major brands.
Reds Sox vs. Yankees the sports premier rivalry.
Cleveland and Detroit is a captivating rivalry, and featured a historic chase down / collapse and included the reigning cy young.
Reds make it for the first in forever.
Detroit vs Seattle was CAPTIVATING, and went to 6 extra innings in the deciding game.
for anyone who complains about the staggered game times, this is the reason they do that.
The Dodgers are good business.
This is the first years since fucking 2017 that the ALCS doesn’t include the Astros, Yankees, or Red Sox.
THREE TEAMS HAVE HAD A STRANGLEHOLD ON THE AMERICAN LEAGUE FOR 8 YEARS….
I’m not even mad at the Red Sox, but the Mariners and Blue Jays are bringing life to the postseason again. Imagine how high the Ratings will be when the Orioles make it to the ALCS 🥲
lol there goes all the people’s arguments about a dying sport
It’s the sex appeal from the dumper
Where are all the doom and gloomers saying this will be the worst viewed baseball?!?!
I’m sorry but I was told that we needed only big markets in the playoffs for people to watch
Seattle
Not surprised. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me this year and say ‘ya know, I’ve started watching some baseball recently and really enjoyed it.’ It’s anecdotal, but I live in a college football town that’s 3 hours from the nearest team (and that team is the Royals so….). If it’s getting popular here, then i can only assume it’s seeing a rise in popularity elsewhere.
My theory is that I think there’s actually something appealing about how anti-modern it is. In a world that promises constant entertainment and so many things competing for attention, it’s one of the few things that is still makes us slow down and is almost entirely premised on delayed gratification. At times, it’s downright unapologetically boring which few things are willing to be anymore.
Ohtani = Ratings. What else needs to be said?
We are so back
ALL from Seattle motherfuckers!
Just in time for the upcoming strike!
MLB will fuck up the increasing popularity of baseball with a holdout next season
For me, it is one hundred percent due to the pitch clock and other rule changes. I used to watch baseball a ton and then stopped like 2008-2023 or so because the games had become so slow. It is so much more fun to watch now. I still prefer the radio broadcasts, though.
Blue jays and mariners are Americas’ teams!
It’s the Canadians
The league used to broadcast some postseason games exclusively on MLB Network from 2012 through 2021, at which point it retained the Spanish rights until 2024. So yeah, way to go, MLB.
They basically derailed their postseason viewership growth for a decade to sell a network nobody wanted. MLB Network is available in around 30 million homes (and falling) compared to TBS and FS1 (both available in around 70 million homes).
So no, it’s not the rule changes or the teams. It’s simply the MLB correcting their own mistake.
Baseball seems like it’s trending in a good direction, perfect time for a lockout.
Seattle isn’t a small market and I would like my basketball team back now.
50 comments
New teams are exciting
Brewers are must watch TV as we all expected
our friends up north are watching?
The Blue Jays-Mariners effect
Turns out starved fan bases are better for viewership than big markets
Who knew having a majority of teams that the general baseball fandom would want to root for actually increases viewership?!
That’s because there are finally new teams in it
We can thank the Astros and Braves for collapsing
But I thought the brewers and mariners going far would absolutely kill viewership?
I’m guessing its mainly because of the Blue Jays since all of Canada watches them
When the biggest market team like the Brewers makes it this far, is there really any question why?
I’VE SAID THIS ONCE AND I’LL SAY IT 1,000 MORE TIMES. BASEBALL IS NOT A DYING SPORT
new teams + actual streaming accessibility. i can watch all the TBS games on HBO max instead of paying a bunch for cable
Perfect. Players got their big ammo for no salary caps in the next CBA
The first 2 rounds this year had sort of a perfect combination of big markets + small and mid market teams who have been around long enough to have generational fanbases and a legitimate diaspora
You simply don’t get this most years, it’s usually 2-4 teams hard carrying and if those teams get eliminated you wind up with a World Series no one cares about. Regardless of who wins the ALCS and NLCS this year, that won’t be the case.
Rule changes helped a lot to make the game more watchable
Also, the fact that I can go watch a Dodgers postseason game for $80 is amazing. Most other sports are way more expensive
Thank you Canada
And this doesn’t even include Japan….
(I love that this is a search result for “Canada”)
Nielsen recently updated how they do their ratings.
[Sports Will See Big Boost From New Nielsen Ratings](https://frontofficesports.com/nielsen-tv-ratings-sports/)
Ratings up just in time for the owners to force a lockout.
2010?
Ah. Good year
Everyone in Japan is in
Honestly, I’ve got a lot of gripes with the MLB (ad creep, expense, lack of parity, diminished in-person experience, etc.), but you can’t deny the sport is in a great spot these last couple years vs. most of the 2010s.
Exciting young talent. The 2023 rule changes (except the ghost runner, imo) have been a huge boon.
This year playoffs have been so fun, too. Anyone claiming otherwise just hasn’t been watching.
This doesn’t even include the roughly 10% of Canada watching each Jays game
Pace of play rules have helped. Nobody wants to see an at bat take 10 minutes with batters adjusting their batting gloves after every pitch, pitchers calling time every 2 pitches.
How can it be? I thought the Dodgers ruined baseball….
Mariners and Blue Jays fans are insatiable.
I mean let’s see why.
Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies are major brands.
Reds Sox vs. Yankees the sports premier rivalry.
Cleveland and Detroit is a captivating rivalry, and featured a historic chase down / collapse and included the reigning cy young.
Reds make it for the first in forever.
Detroit vs Seattle was CAPTIVATING, and went to 6 extra innings in the deciding game.
for anyone who complains about the staggered game times, this is the reason they do that.
The Dodgers are good business.
This is the first years since fucking 2017 that the ALCS doesn’t include the Astros, Yankees, or Red Sox.
THREE TEAMS HAVE HAD A STRANGLEHOLD ON THE AMERICAN LEAGUE FOR 8 YEARS….
I’m not even mad at the Red Sox, but the Mariners and Blue Jays are bringing life to the postseason again. Imagine how high the Ratings will be when the Orioles make it to the ALCS 🥲
lol there goes all the people’s arguments about a dying sport
It’s the sex appeal from the dumper
Where are all the doom and gloomers saying this will be the worst viewed baseball?!?!
I’m sorry but I was told that we needed only big markets in the playoffs for people to watch
Seattle
Not surprised. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me this year and say ‘ya know, I’ve started watching some baseball recently and really enjoyed it.’ It’s anecdotal, but I live in a college football town that’s 3 hours from the nearest team (and that team is the Royals so….). If it’s getting popular here, then i can only assume it’s seeing a rise in popularity elsewhere.
My theory is that I think there’s actually something appealing about how anti-modern it is. In a world that promises constant entertainment and so many things competing for attention, it’s one of the few things that is still makes us slow down and is almost entirely premised on delayed gratification. At times, it’s downright unapologetically boring which few things are willing to be anymore.
Ohtani = Ratings. What else needs to be said?
We are so back
ALL from Seattle motherfuckers!
Just in time for the upcoming strike!
MLB will fuck up the increasing popularity of baseball with a holdout next season
For me, it is one hundred percent due to the pitch clock and other rule changes. I used to watch baseball a ton and then stopped like 2008-2023 or so because the games had become so slow. It is so much more fun to watch now. I still prefer the radio broadcasts, though.
Blue jays and mariners are Americas’ teams!
It’s the Canadians
The league used to broadcast some postseason games exclusively on MLB Network from 2012 through 2021, at which point it retained the Spanish rights until 2024. So yeah, way to go, MLB.
They basically derailed their postseason viewership growth for a decade to sell a network nobody wanted. MLB Network is available in around 30 million homes (and falling) compared to TBS and FS1 (both available in around 70 million homes).
So no, it’s not the rule changes or the teams. It’s simply the MLB correcting their own mistake.
Baseball seems like it’s trending in a good direction, perfect time for a lockout.
Seattle isn’t a small market and I would like my basketball team back now.