After this year’s world series, the buzz was not all about the Texas Rangers’ first ever championship win, but record low TV viewership. 

An average of 9.082 million people watched the 2023 world series. Never before had there been such low viewings during the world series–not even during COVID– which had an average of 9.78 million viewers. 

So, what’s the reason for this lack of publicity? Is baseball still America’s pastime? .

In justifying such low viewership, Mike Muhvili, president in insights and analytics for FOX news, associates this year’s record low with the relative unpopularity of the two competing teams, as the Arizona Diamondback and Texas Rangers do not have much national appeal.

Sure, sitting down and tuning into a TV channel isn’t as popular as it once was, but while the world series was experiencing record-low views, the NFL’s Chiefs vs Raiders game had 15.2 million viewers. 

Further, many claim that baseball’s demographic is aging out. However, according to a survey conducted by the Los Angeles Times, baseball is the second most popular sport to 18-35 year old’s.

Attendance has been up 9.6% and viewership is up 7% since last year, due to new changes in the rules of the game that speed up the overall process. For instance, the pitch timer and defense limit decrease time between pitches and increase batting average, making the game have a quicker and more exciting pace. Bases have also enlarged from 15 inches to 18 to encourage stolen-base attempts and ensure player safety.

Many believe that had the world series lasted seven games instead of five, viewership would have increased as well.

Despite what the number of world series viewers implies, America’s Pastime is not going out without a fight. But, the NFL will probably always be more popular.