# Why is MLB attendance so low

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mlb-attendance-so-low/658040>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [May 11, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mlb-attendance-so-low/658040 "2013-05-11T00:40:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mlb-attendance-so-low/658040/81 "2013-05-22T23:18:54Z")

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> [@NDP](#):
>
> Now, MLB has greater attendance than the NFL or the NBA but in other categories that are at least just as important to the overall health of the sport like TV ratings, it’s getting crushed.

Comparing TV ratings between the NFL and any other sport is a foolish waste of time. The NFL is a made-for TV sport, others are not. Teams play one game a week, on a Sunday afternoon when everyone is home and there is no competition for viewers. Baseball plays six or seven games a week, mostly at night on weekdays when families are eating and doing homework and housework, and all the TV channels are vying for eyeballs with dramas and comedies and reality shows. Oftentimes baseball will have a weekday game in mid-afternoon. Of course the ratings aren’t going to be as good as football.

Still, the LA Dodgers were bought for $2.1B last year, and they are creating their own TV network. It doesn’t seem like the big money is worried about the popularity of the game.

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