Major League Baseball has a lot to celebrate these days. The league kicks off the 2025 playoffs on Tuesday with several rivalry matchups and great storylines. The best news, however, came in the form of big attendance and viewership increases in several markets around the league.
The league reported an attendance number of 71,409,421 for 2025, marking a third straight year of growth, which hasn’t happened since 2007. It was also the third straight year the league welcomed more than 70 million fans through the turnstiles.
A few factors contributing to the increase include the pitch clock, bigger bases and other changes helping speed up the game, providing more action between the lines.
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How are small-market teams helping league growth?
The success of small-market teams is also lifting up the league. The Cleveland Guardians were 15 games behind the Detroit Tigers on July 6 and ran the Tigers down to win the American League Central. The Guardians’ payroll is just over $100 million, ranking 25th in the league.
The Milwaukee Brewers won the National League Central with a payroll of just over $121 million, ranking 21st in the league, according to Spotrac. Manager Pat Murphy feels like his players are underdogs, even though they have the best record in baseball at 97-65.
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Major League Baseball reported an attendance number of 71,409,421 for 2025, marking a third straight year of growth, which hasn’t happened since 2007.
“That’s just who they are,” Murphy said. “These guys want to compete. They know they’re different. They know they’re not a powerhouse that’s stacked like some of these other teams that we’ll play. But what are they going to do, play differently now? We can only play the way we play.”
The Cincinnati Reds rank one spot below Milwaukee with a $119 million roster and posted their best attendance in a decade at the Great American Ball Park. Reds Manager Terry Francona believes his group can make some noise in the postseason.
“This is like a whole new season,” Francona said. “It’s funny, even in a short series, you’ll see, you’ll have ups and downs, they just happen quicker. You try to have urgency without panic.”
The upstart Reds made the playoffs while the high-priced New York Mets, with the second-highest payroll in the league at $342 million, collapsed down the stretch. The Reds will meet the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card round. The Dodgers have the highest payroll in the league at over $350 million.
What has raised MLB viewership numbers?
It’s that kind of parity in baseball that has also raised viewership numbers across the board. The increases, from 9% all the way up to 34% for MLB TV, can be attributed, in part, to the new way Nielsen measures both traditional TV viewers and streamers. “Sunday Night Baseball” was up 21% and will move from ESPN to NBC starting next season.
The increases are great news for companies that just signed a new three-year media rights deal with MLB. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the agreement with NBC, ESPN and Netflix two weeks ago.
“We feel like ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ on broadcast television is important,” Manfred said. “We’ve worked really hard to keep ESPN in as a partner, and we think starting with Netflix is a really exciting opportunity for us.”
A looming labor dispute with the players’ union threatens to derail Major League Baseball’s momentum, but if the league can sustain the growth into 2028, Manfred and league owners could be in a prime position when the league’s full media rights package is up for bid.
