Attendance at Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums increased 9.6% in 2023 compared to 2022, the largest annual increase since 1993. In total, 70,747,365 fans attended a game in the world's top baseball league, compared to 64,556,636 who attended the previous season.
Despite this significant jump, the MLB was about two million fans shy of breaking the 2017 record (72,678,797).
In 2023 @MLB posted its best year-over-year increase in average attendance since 1993. pic.twitter.com/A6HjBWLqgw
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) October 2, 2023
In addition, average attendance also increased by 9.1% in 2023. The average number of fans who watched MLB games in the stadiums was 29,295. In 2022, an average of 26,843 attended.
Twenty-four of the 30 teams that make up the MLB saw their fan attendance at games increase. Another fact worth highlighting is that 17 teams exceeded 2.5 million total fans during the season, the best record since 2000. Eight of them (Dodgers, Padres, Yankees, Cardinals, Braves, Phillies, Astros and Blue Jays) broke the 3-million fan threshold, something that has not happened since 2013.
Shorter games and growing viewership for streaming
In 2023, the average length of games decreased by 24 minutes, dropping to the shortest average time since 1985. This season, the average of each game was 2:39:49, while in 2022 it was 3:03:44.
The Major League Baseball streaming service is also thriving. The number of users who followed MLB through MLB.TV increased by 14% compared to last season. Seventeen percent more games were also viewed through official streaming channel, and 12.7 billion minutes were watched, 9% more than in 2022.
The 2023 season marked the most streamed season in the 21-year history of @MLBTV, setting a new all-time record with 12.7 billion minutes watched (+9% vs. 11.7B in 2022). pic.twitter.com/ewluHs3kmI
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) October 2, 2023
