Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The Baseball landscape
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- Figure 1: Total Major League Baseball regular season attendance, 2014-19
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- Figure 2: Interest in baseball by level, November 2019
- Key takeaways
- People still tune in to watch baseball
- Following Baseball has never been easier
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- Figure 3: Baseball viewing - method
- Creative offerings to get fans through the turnstiles
- Gaming opportunities appeal to young consumers
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- Figure 4: Interest in fantasy baseball by generation, November 2019
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- Figure 5: Interest in betting on baseball by generation, November 2019
- The baseball halo effect
- What it means
The Baseball Landscape
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- TV contracts and ratings
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- Figure 6: World Series TV Ratings Points, 2014-19
- Dwindling MLB attendance
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- Figure 7: Total Major League Baseball regular season attendance, 2014-19
- Quick Hits – Getting grounded in baseball
- Marketing through baseball
- MLB hits record revenues in 2019
- MLB games are (too) long
- Swinging for the fences
- More focused fandom
- Growing the next generation of fans
- Cost of attending games rises
Key Indicators Impacting Baseball
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- The Swoosh meets the diamond
- What’s happening now
- What’s on deck
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- Figure 8: MLB incorporates brand logos on uniforms
- One more streaming subscription
- What’s happening now
- What’s on deck
- It ain’t broke, but it needs fixing
- What’s happening now
- What’s on deck
- MLB wagering on sports betting
- What’s happening now
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- Figure 9: Sportscenter Bad Beats – Co-Host Stanford Steve
- What’s on deck
- Ballpark (Pass) and chill
- What’s happening now
- What’s on deck
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- Figure 10: New York Mets Ballpark Pass Offering
- Amid recent success, MLB seeks MiLB restructure
- What’s happening now
- What’s on deck
- Let the kids play, and watch
- What’s happening now
- What’s on deck
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- Figure 11: MLB Players’ Weekend Jerseys
- Figure 12: Let The Kids Play
- Figure 13: Carl’s Jr Integration
Exploring Baseball Fans
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- MLB dominates baseball fandom
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- Figure 14: Interest in baseball by level, November 2019
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- Figure 15: Interest by level of baseball, November 2019
- Fandom is a personal perception
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- Figure 16: MLB Interest by generation, November 2019
- Growing the female fan base
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- Figure 17: Level of baseball followed by gender, November 2019
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- Figure 18: MLB fandom passion by gender, November 2019
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- Figure 20: Microsoft Surface Pro 7, featuring Katie Sowers
- Following baseball trends younger
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- Figure 21: Interest in baseball by level by generation, November 2019
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- Figure 22: Use social media to follow baseball by generation – November 2019
Barriers for Baseball
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- Getting comfy on the couch
- The juice ain’t worth the squeeze
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- Figure 23: Orioles kids cheer free program
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- Figure 24: Boston Red Sox 2020 Theme Nights
- “Baseball is boring”
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- Figure 25: Barriers to following baseball, November 2019
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- Figure 26: Taco Bell – Steal a Base, Steal a Taco
- Barriers vary by generation
- Not just peanuts and Cracker Jack
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- Figure 27: MLB Foodfest Menu
- Modernizing the game
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- Figure 28: Mark Teixeira, Former MLB Player and TV Analyst
- Turning embarrassment into engagement and education
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- Figure 29: Barriers to following baseball by generation, November 2019
If You Build It, They Might Come
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- An experience beyond just the game
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- Figure 30: Methods to increase 2020 baseball attendance
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- Figure 31: T-Mobile Park food options
- A squad to see the squad
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- Figure 32: Kansas City Royals – Yogis in the Outfield
- I’ll have fries with that ticket
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- Figure 33: Chicago White Sox – Bleachers & Brews
- Mintel TURF brings all the fans to the park
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- Figure 34: TURF Analysis – Interest in attending a game next season, November 2019
- Take me out to the ballgame
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- Figure 35: Ticket acquisition method
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- Figure 36: Chicago Cub Ticket packs
Keeping Up with America’s Pastime
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- Following the game of baseball
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- Figure 37: Methods of following baseball
- Life stage influences how you root (root, root) for the home team
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- Figure 38: Methods of following baseball – by generation
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- Figure 39: Following baseball – with whom by generation
- The Sabermetrics-ish of fandom
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- Figure 40: MLB fandom by number of methods used to follow baseball, November 2019
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- Figure 41: Likelihood of purchasing brands affiliated with baseball team, by number of methods used to follow baseball, November 2019
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- Figure 42: Media channel usage index of baseball fans for 5+ hours use over a seven day period, Spring 2019
Focus on Community Involvement
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- Making an impact in the community
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- Figure 43: Opportunities for brands
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- Figure 44: Adam Eaton’s Rev Up The Park charity event
Making Players More Personable
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- Getting to know players beyond their stats
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- Figure 45: Interest in players’ personal lives by generation, November 2019
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- Figure 46: State Farm Insurance – Chris Paul “Deer” Video
- We need to talk about your flair
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- Figure 47: Interest in players’ personalization by generation, November 2019
Fantasy Baseball & Sports Betting
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- Figure 48: Appeal of fantasy baseball by gender and age, November 2019
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- Figure 49: Fantasy Baseball World Championship
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- Figure 50: Sports betting TV shows
- Figure 51: Appeal of sports betting by gender and age, November 2019
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Brand Integrations in Baseball
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- Figure 52: Reynolds Wrap infield tarp integration
- Figure 53: Skittles infield tarp integration
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- Figure 54: OnTrac bullpen cart integration
- Figure 55: Chick-fil-A “fowl” poles
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Growing the Game in 2020
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- Rewarding fandom
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- Figure 56: Dunkin’ DD Perks Kansas City Royals promotion
- Baseball’s RedZone?
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- Figure 57: Methods to increase 2020 baseball following
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 58: Opportunities for brands
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- Figure 59: Simmons Consumer data
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- Figure 60: Simmons Connect Plus data
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