They say indifference is worse than anger. If that is true, MLB may be in trouble.
We’ve been in MLB Lockdown for over a month, negotiations are not practical, spring training report dates are approaching, and numerous sports fans are congratulating all … Meh who clears his throat.
If the recent Seton Hall University poll is to be believed, large sections of sports fans view Lockdown’s lack of progress, not out of anger or impatience, but indifference.
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In a poll of 1,570 adults last month, 44% of those identified as enthusiastic sports fans found that the major league was not interested in baseball at the start of the 2022 season. But despite the powers that be rejecting this, there is another confusing expression from the poll: 54% of the general public responded that they were not interested in the MLB anyway.
Even if you are optimistic about the current state of the game of baseball, this certainly sounds like bad news for MLB players and managers. And as the lockdown continues, the path to indifference widens.
“From previous strikes, we know that fans tend to come back, whether management (lockouts) or unions (strikes) are launched. However, today, there is huge competition in entertainment,” said Charles Grantham, director of Chetton Hall’s Sports Management Center. “These numbers are encouraging. No, and trying to change the constantly declining scores and attendance in a game should be very worrying. “
Poll numbers, even with the necessary warnings in mind, are compatible with other sources to paint a bad picture.
MLB attendance reached a 37-year low in 2021, the lowest average attendance for a fifth season (not counting the 2020 season without fans). Although most of the crimes for the 2021 arrival can be blamed on the restrictions imposed by the epidemic in the first half of the season, this fall is most notable as there has been no increase. Although 2019% and a fraction of that decline is due to fewer streaming options in some parts of the country, fewer people are looking at baseball as leisure time – and more viewers are older and older.
In 2017, the average age of MLB fans / viewers was 57, and in 2000 it was 52. Compare this to the average age of fans in the NFL (50), NBA (42), NHL (49) and MLS (40). It is also clear that baseball faces a major challenge in nurturing a younger, more diverse audience. But it would be without a strike in a normal year. The fact that these numbers are in the winter without any good baseball news underscores that if MLB continues to impress its fans and potential fans, the risk of losing money in the long run is still high, not to mention diminishing cultural influence. One reason to find alternative entertainment. .
This is where these discussions usually recur, with each of the usual skeptics behind the baseball issues bowing: long games, slow pace, slowdown in field activity, poor marketing, bad leadership. But their familiarity with these debates makes their effects come true.
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Although the MLB has had some success recently, the game “Field of Dreams” Has succeeded Last August saw a slight increase in viewership for the 2021 World Series and an increase in streaming apps and digital platforms for watching games – baseball is still struggling with a larger playing field and interest in entertainment. This should come as no surprise considering the ever-growing list of leisure options. But it was nothing.
MLB has long seemed to be operating with the mentality of ‘they will come if we play’, resting on the decades-old awards and hoping that its relative lack of a show, lack of well-known names and increased costs for attendance. Small impact, impact on health or popularity of the sport. In other words, “People will come, Ray. People will definitely come. “
While this allows us to tap into the desire for a better version of the moving movie dialogue baseball, this feeling has not been true for a long time, and it certainly has no real basis for a long time in our lives.
While it is true that the hardest baseball fans may lose some interest in the sport they love, keeping these individuals engaged should not be the goal. Fan especially when they are much older than average games. . Putting younger buttocks in seats, keeping younger eyes focused and healing the younger brain will be a challenge in the future.
The lockout will last a long time, and MLB owners and players are given little reason to think about their game, which goes beyond lamenting its inability to pull itself together, making the challenge harder.
MLB – Both Players and Owners – How to Change Seton Hall Poll Numbers? How long does it take for them to become irreversible? Solutions are often debatable, but one thing is for sure: they have to play. MLB must be a product for display. This means that MLB and its players must end this labor dispute as soon as possible to build their final sales pitch for millions of fans and potential customers.
Modern baseball has a lot to like, but fans can not flirt and fall in love if there is nothing to impress them. The significant delay for the 2022 season carries huge potential risks ranging from short-term returns to long-term setbacks. So it is better not to delay.
There may have been a time when “if we play we will come” was a fair operating principle. But we certainly are not now. Now there are other “ifs” to consider – including what happens if baseball slips further into the public sense of entertainment.
This is a consequence of the transition from baseball to ineffective.
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