Major League Baseball’s return hasn’t exactly gone as planned with dozens of games being postponed because of coronavirus outbreaks within multiple teams, but the season has featured some notable positives, including improved television ratings.

TV ratings both nationally and on the local level have seen gains. Compared to the first two weeks of last season, the first 14 days of the 2020 season has seen overall viewership increase by 120,000 to 2.8 million viewers, The Athletic reports.

Perhaps most significant are the demographics that have watched more baseball this year. Nielsen told The Athletic that viewership is up 41% in females aged 18-24, going from 40,000 to 56,000 viewers. Viewership for males in that age range has increased by 26% from 71,000 to 89,000 viewers.

“Considering all that MLB is up against this year at the start of its season, from COVID-19 to directly competing with the NHL and NBA playoffs, to getting underway at the heart of summer, these … stats are even more staggering,” Nielsen told The Athletic.

Nielsen reported that MLB games have seen a 15% increase in females aged 25-54. Overall, people under the age of 55 have gone from 44.1% of the TV audience in 2019 to 47.1% of MLB’s viewership this year

San Diego, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati and the Minneapolis-St. Paul markets have seen the biggest growth in ratings, Nielsen told The Athletic.

That’s welcomed news for baseball, which is often the subject of talks regarding its decrease in popularity. The NFL has a convincingly hold as the most popular sport in the country. The NBA has seemingly surpassed America’s Pastime as the second-most popular league, according to some metrics.

A recent study conducted for SportsBusiness Journal by Magna Global found that the average age of an MLB TV viewer is 57 years old. The average person that watches the NBA on TV is 42 years old, according to the study. The average NFL viewer is 50 years old.

The NBA ratings have been mixed, at best, this summer, and there is some concern about the league’s overall viewership. The NBA may see a bump now that the playoffs have begun.

Both professional baseball and basketball have not allowed fans in stadiums, making television and online viewership a crucial source of revenue.

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Ljay Newsome #74 of the Seattle Mariners pitches against Enrique Hernandez #14 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth inning at T-Mobile Park on August 20, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Abbie Parr/Getty Images
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