"Baseball is fine. Don't worry about it" Topic

bad_luck
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Posted by AlCheez on 8/5/2014 1:59:00 PM (view original):
Even if it's happening, has there ever been any particularly reliable link between youth sports participation and the popularity of professional sports?

I think soccer has been the #2 or #3 youth sport in the country for at least 20 years.  Basketball has been #1 by a mile since they starting keeping numbers.
This.

I stopped playing football before high school. One guess what I'm watching most Sundays in the Fall.
8/5/2014 2:01 PM
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tecwrg
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Alrighty then.

We'll just all pretend that all is good, and the noted decline in interest and market share is irrelevant.




8/5/2014 3:05 PM
MikeT23
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Posted by tecwrg on 8/5/2014 1:47:00 PM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 8/4/2014 9:06:00 PM (view original):
I've been involved in coaching youth baseball in my town for the past 8 years (both of my kids), and I can definitely say that there's been a definite loss of younger kids from baseball to other sports, particularly soccer and lacrosse, over that period of time.  Even the older kids, who stuck with baseball all through Little League, are also moving towards other sports like rugby rather than continue with baseball as teenagers.

What makes anybody think that if they are moving away from playing baseball as kids that they will be moving back to baseball as fans when they are adults?
What about this?

I don't see any "Baseball is going out of business" proclamations in there.

He noted a declining interest in baseaball from children and asked why/how anyone would think that they're going to become baseball fans at a later date.

If you don't play the game, or at least have a viewing interest when you're young, I think it's reasonably unlikely that you'll develop an interest as you age.   That's why I said football was immune to such things.  Dads watch.   Son and daughter will be exposed to it.   Fewer dads are watching baseball.  Fewer kids are playing baseball.   Where will the interest come from?
8/5/2014 3:46 PM
MikeT23
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It's the "Old, white guy" theory as it pertains to soccer.    Soccer is on the upswing in the US.    Not with 40 y/o white guys but with the rest of the nation. 
8/5/2014 3:47 PM
bad_luck
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Posted by MikeT23 on 8/5/2014 3:46:00 PM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 8/5/2014 1:47:00 PM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 8/4/2014 9:06:00 PM (view original):
I've been involved in coaching youth baseball in my town for the past 8 years (both of my kids), and I can definitely say that there's been a definite loss of younger kids from baseball to other sports, particularly soccer and lacrosse, over that period of time.  Even the older kids, who stuck with baseball all through Little League, are also moving towards other sports like rugby rather than continue with baseball as teenagers.

What makes anybody think that if they are moving away from playing baseball as kids that they will be moving back to baseball as fans when they are adults?
What about this?

I don't see any "Baseball is going out of business" proclamations in there.

He noted a declining interest in baseaball from children and asked why/how anyone would think that they're going to become baseball fans at a later date.

If you don't play the game, or at least have a viewing interest when you're young, I think it's reasonably unlikely that you'll develop an interest as you age.   That's why I said football was immune to such things.  Dads watch.   Son and daughter will be exposed to it.   Fewer dads are watching baseball.  Fewer kids are playing baseball.   Where will the interest come from?
You realize that's tec quoting tec right? You don't need to explain his own post to him. Clown.
8/5/2014 3:57 PM
MikeT23
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Looks like I scheduled the Yanks on the MLB Network again.   That's 5 straight days I've put the Yanks on.  Bet dahs is ******.
8/5/2014 7:13 PM
dahsdebater
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I'm watching the Orioles and Jays, why do I care?
8/5/2014 7:43 PM
MikeT23
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Posted by dahsdebater on 8/4/2014 12:16:00 PM (view original):
Aside from the fact that you happen to be a fan of one of the teams, how can you totally ignore the fact that Yanks/Sox just ISN'T an important matchup this season?  Only one of the teams is contending, and even that is a generous assessment.  Ironically, I don't think you'd say nearly as much about a Baltimore/Toronto matchup, or a Baltimore/Oakland matchup, or Seattle/Toronto, even though all of those are far more relevant with substantial playoff implications.  You think it's good for the future of baseball to try to build up fan bases for the handful of teams with the most money and just say "who cares who's winning, look at these overpaid guys!"?  Ignoring the fact that you somehow don't even seem to understand how the network contracts work, the particular game you keep harping on is borderline irrelevant.
Guess you weren't getting the game you wanted when you posted this.    All me.
8/5/2014 7:45 PM
tecwrg
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Posted by bad_luck on 8/5/2014 3:57:00 PM (view original):
Posted by MikeT23 on 8/5/2014 3:46:00 PM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 8/5/2014 1:47:00 PM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 8/4/2014 9:06:00 PM (view original):
I've been involved in coaching youth baseball in my town for the past 8 years (both of my kids), and I can definitely say that there's been a definite loss of younger kids from baseball to other sports, particularly soccer and lacrosse, over that period of time.  Even the older kids, who stuck with baseball all through Little League, are also moving towards other sports like rugby rather than continue with baseball as teenagers.

What makes anybody think that if they are moving away from playing baseball as kids that they will be moving back to baseball as fans when they are adults?
What about this?

I don't see any "Baseball is going out of business" proclamations in there.

He noted a declining interest in baseaball from children and asked why/how anyone would think that they're going to become baseball fans at a later date.

If you don't play the game, or at least have a viewing interest when you're young, I think it's reasonably unlikely that you'll develop an interest as you age.   That's why I said football was immune to such things.  Dads watch.   Son and daughter will be exposed to it.   Fewer dads are watching baseball.  Fewer kids are playing baseball.   Where will the interest come from?
You realize that's tec quoting tec right? You don't need to explain his own post to him. Clown.
I think he was explaining it to the clowns who couldn't figure out the point I was making.
8/5/2014 8:11 PM
MikeT23
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That is correct.   I was responding to dahs' womanly post that came right after you quoted yourself.

No one has said "Baseball is dying."    As I said, baseball has TV contracts for several years into the future.  But, if the decline in viewership continues, does anyone expect the TV cash to keep increasing?
8/5/2014 8:42 PM
The Taint
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It did for the NBA.  The last deal they signed went up 20 percent:   $767 million to $930 million after the fourth worst ratings since 1982.  Down 10 percent from the year before.

8/5/2014 8:56 PM
The Taint
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From 10 minutes ago on Forbes:




This article has now been updated with ratings information for all U.S. teams, minus the Dodgers and Astros who are mired in carriage disputes and adversely skew the numbers

Major League Baseball is king during prime time at the regional level thus far this season for regional sports networks (RSNs) winning the key prime time slot in the US markets that Nielsen Media Company tracks.

The data bolsters the position that baseball continues to be a solid programming choice for networks in the summer when the major networks are in reruns.

According to the information from Nielsen, of the 29 U.S.-based clubs in the league, 12 of them are the #1-rated programming in prime time since the start of the season in their home markets, beating both broadcast and cable competition. These teams include the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Another 7 teams rank in the top three in local prime time TV ratings on their respective RSNs, including the Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and Denver Rockies.

Another 8 teams rank in the top 9 in local prime time TV ratings on their respective RSNs, outrating cable competition such as Walt Disney DIS -0.56% owned ESPN ESPN.  These teams include Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Oakland A’s, and Washington Nationals.

Two teams that missed the ratings wins are both mired in carriage disputes. The Dodgers with SportsNet LA and Houston Astros with CSN Houston have yet to break the impasse with major carriers such as DirecTV, AT&T T -0.99% U-Verse, as well as others.

The data provided by the Nielsen Company was collected between March 31st when the season was starting and July 24th.

Each regional sports network televises an average of 148 MLB game per season, most in prime time (7p-11p), when the television audience is the greatest and advertisers are looking to get the best bang for their buck.

Not all the teams that own the key broadcast time slot are performing well in the standings. As of the 24th when the data for averaging ended, several markets that saw #1 ratings in prime time were languishing in the standings. The Cincinnati Reds had a 52-52 (.500) record, yet were fourth in the NL Central, 6 games out of first and 4.5 games out of the NL Wild Card race. The Arizona Diamondbacks had a 45-60 (.429) record (13.5 games out of first) and ranked dead last in the NL West and third worst in all the National League ahead of only the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox, while enjoying the idea that they are still World Series Champions until the playoffs hit this fall are out of the running and were in last in the AL East with a 48-57 (.457) winning record and 10.5 games out.

Leading the pack are the Detroit Tigers on FOX Sports Detroit who have seen an 8.38 average household rating with an average 156,000 households. They’re followed by the Cardinals on FOX Sports Midwest (7.56/95,000 avg households), and Pittsburgh Pirates on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh (7.56 / 89,000 avg households).

Picking up the rear end of the ratings are the Chicago White Sox, who even with networks in reruns could only pick up the 9th best program ranking in prime time. When coupled with the Chicago Cubs, CSN Chicago is taking a major hit compared to other RSNs. Along the way, the Los Angeles Angels aren’t exactly lighting up the ratings. While clubs that are lagging in the standings seeing some of the better rankings in prime time, the Angels are a bit of a mystery. They were just 2 games back of the Oakland A’s on July 27th, yet rank behind only the White Sox in poor ratings.

The numbers bode do bode well for network partners, such as FOX Sports. The question is, why do national ratings seem to lag, while regionally ratings are mostly flourishing.

“Thanks to regional sports networks, there are more Major League Baseball games available locally than ever before, and ratings reflect the intense passion fans feel for their teams,” said Kyle Sherman, Executive Vice President, Home Team Sports, the entity that represents all the FOX Sports regional sports networks. “Fans see and experience the sport through the lens of their home team, which drives interest.”

Below is data provided by Nielsen showing the market, the team and its RSN they broadcast on, the household rating and households, followed by the prime time ranking for them. Note that the Dodgers and Astros are currently not listed as they are mired in carriage disputes and therefore ratings skewed adversely

8/5/2014 9:02 PM
The Taint
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8/5/2014 9:05 PM
The Taint
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Posted by AlCheez on 8/4/2014 4:24:00 PM (view original):
Well, revenue drops would trail behind major interest drops due to the nature of broadcast rights contracts, but if networks pay a ton of money to fill slots with stuff people aren't watching, eventually they go under.

I don't think baseball is any kind of a boom period right now, but I see the deals teams like the Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, etc are getting for their local TV rights in the last couple years and I have to think these cable companies believe people are watching.  I also see league-wide attendance in the vicinity of historic highs, and so the only thing that seems to be suffering right now are the national broadcasts, and I chalk most of that up to the saturation of market with national broadcasts over the last decade or so, and the general downward trend in TV ratings overall.  

Bingo

8/5/2014 9:08 PM
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