Is it just me or does it seem like the MLB All Star game gets considerably less and less attention every year?

I did some research recently which confirms this. The Nielsen ratings, which are used to determine what percentage of US households tune into a specific television program, show that baseball fans are generally less interested in the all star game than ever before.



Since 1967, the All Star Game has been broadcast on television; it received a rating of 25.6, which means approximately 1 out of every 4 households in America watched the All Star Game. A decade later, in 1977, the All Star Game continued to have decent ratings, when it received a 24.5. However, around the early 1980s, the All Star Game started drawing smaller television audiences. By 1981, the ratings fell to 20.1, and by 1987, they fell to 18.2, and would never top 20 again. In 1995, the ratings again fell to 13.9, and would never top 14 ever again. In 2002, the ratings fell once more to 9.5, and the all star game hasn’t topped 10 since, meaning that today, less than 1 in 10 households watch the MLB All Star Game.

My explanation for this lack of interest is simple. The All Star Game appealed to the fans in the 60s and 70s, because it was the only chance most Americans got to see the game’s best players play.

However due to the inventions; of cable television, ESPN, nationally televised games, and the internet, a baseball fan can see any team or player play anytime they want. Therefore, the excitement of being able to see all of the game’s best players in an All Star Game is taken away.

Where’s the excitement? What can a baseball fan get from watching the All Star Game that they couldn’t otherwise get on any other day of the baseball season?

This could explain why the Home Run Derby continues to be successful. The Home Run Derby not only has higher ratings than the All Star Game, but most playoff games as well. Why is this?

The Home Run Derby gives the fans a chance to see players hit 40 home runs in one night, or hit 500 foot home runs. Something they otherwise couldn’t see.

So while Major League Baseball will continue to try gimmicks to stir up interest; like giving the winning league home field advantage, or giving the fans the chance to vote for the final player, the simple fact of the matter is, the All Star Game will never stir up the interest of the old days, because the basis for that interest no longer exists.