While its the television ratings that get the most coverage and factor more directly into Major League Baseball’s bottom line, social media engagement remains a key metric for the league.
This year’s World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers is set to be the most-watched since at least 2017. And as one could expect given the matchup, MLB’s social media traffic has skyrocketed as well.
Per a report in Sports Business Journal, the league’s social media posts generated 37.1 million engagements across all social media platforms through the first four games of the World Series (which ended in Game 5 Wednesday night), up 195 percent year-over-year. Video views are up at a similar rate, with MLB generating 487.6 million video views, up 186 percent versus 2023. Much of those totals come from Instagram, with 22.7 million engagements and 248.6 million video views generated from that platform alone.
The league’s total platform engagements this postseason are up 29.3 percent, with the World Series still ongoing.
Every single social media platform has seen year-over-year increase for the league. X is up 317 percent in engagements and 252 percent in video views. TikTok increased 136 percent in engagements and 36 percent in video views. Facebook is up 325 percent in engagements, 176 percent in views. And YouTube is up 192 percent in engagements, 251 percent in views.
Of course, much of the reason for these increases can be chalked up to the high-octane matchup between the Yanks and Dodgers this year, compared to a comparatively low-interest matchup nationally between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers last season.
Even still, the massive boosts in social media engagement have to be heartening for Major League Baseball, which has struggled for mainstream breakthrough in recent years. And while the league can’t expect its two most popular teams to face off in the World Series every year, the extra attention can certainly help build some momentum for the league.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.