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Flying somewhat under the radar has been Major League Baseball's improving
demographics. Baseball is the third favorite sport of millennials, for
example, behind the NFL and NCAA.
MLB fans are also the most family-oriented group in the U.S., according to a
survey of close to 39 million people showing interest in the NFL, NCAA
football, Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS) between
October and November of 2017.
In 2017, for the second consecutive year, baseball and softball combined was
the most participated sport in the U.S. (casual and organized play) with 25.1
million, followed by basketball (23.4 million) and football (17.4 million).
Over the past three years, baseball has had a 14.3% annual growth in casual
play and 6% annual increase in total play.
What's behind the increased popularity?
Perhaps foremost has been MLB's Play Ball initiative, launched in June 2015,
the sport's effort to encourage young people and communities to engage in
baseball or softball.
MLB and Hispanic-focused digital network MiTú last year partnered on the
creation of content built around the baseball season through a Latino lens.
My favorite: the MLB Little League Classic, which debuted last year with the
Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. MLB, its players, Little League
International and Walt Disney's ESPN joined forces to provide kids with a
great experience in the backdrop of the Little League World Series in
Williamsport, PA.
This season, Facebook and Major League Baseball have reached a deal that will
give the social network exclusive streaming rights to 25 regular season games
in 2018. I think this endeavor will also bring in younger fans.