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On the face of it, it’s amazing the $6.1 billion that Major League Baseball took in last year is within spitting distance of the NFL’s 2007 revenue of $6.3 billion. The Super Bowl broke TV ratings records once again in 2008, drawing nearly 100 million viewers, while only 17 million bothered to tune in to the 2007 World Series. But baseball has found increasingly inventive ways to ramp up revenue — from counterintuitively reducing the number of seats in stadiums to selling streaming video of baseball games online — hitting record high revenues for five consecutive years.

Baseball remains an especially local, live form of entertainment — an aspect some analysts trace to its historical roots, which predate national markets and TV by a half-century. Unlike the NFL, which takes in more than two-thirds of revenue from national TV, baseball’s national broadcasts generate less than 20 percent of overall sales ($935 million in 2006). The lion’s share comes from revenue at its ballparks and via local broadcasts.

It’s at the local level — soaring sales of higher-priced tickets, concessions, and advertising at new theme-park style stadiums — that MLB is hitting some of its biggest home runs.

about 1 year ago Histioteuthis_heteropsis_tiny webdoyenne 4 comments 1 recs  | 

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only 17 million watching the world series? damn that suprises me.

i would have thought that more people wouldve watched last year as colorado was going for the upset in having to have a playoff game to make the playoffs and i was also watching last year in hopeing that the rockies would take down the red sux and jonathan papelbum

by RaysOfHope on Jul 19, 2008 1:48 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

More would have watched butttt...

It was a sweep there was no drama it was a foregone conclusion. I watched and was hoping the Colorado would have had something for them but … I would imagine if that series would have gone 7 then there would have been way more viewership. That game 7 could have drawn comporable ratings with a Super Bowl. The average american television viewer can not invest 7 nights to find out who wins. That is why the NFL is booming their sport and their sudden death OT caters to the average television viewer with attention deficit disorder. I am an NFL fan but …. baseball will always be the game where intelligence and attention to detail will prevail over brute force and strength and individualistic non team oriented chest thumpers any day.

by PewterPirate55 on Jul 19, 2008 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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