Overview
- The All‑Star Game, which aired Tuesday, averaged 8.79 million viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes, the largest TV audience for the event since 2018 and roughly a 21–22% increase from last year.
- Fox’s earlier Spain–France World Cup semifinal drew about 11.5 million viewers but ended more than three hours before first pitch, so it cannot be treated as a direct lead‑in despite likely helping awareness.
- The Home Run Derby debuted on Netflix on Monday with about 5.3 million viewers, down roughly 8% from last year’s ESPN telecast but skewing noticeably younger in median age and demo rankings.
- MLB reported strong on‑site business in Philadelphia with 111,616 All‑Star Village attendees and a 45% rise in merchandise sales, showing robust in‑person fan spending even with marquee players Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge absent.
- Analysts caution that Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel measurement and the platform mix complicate year‑over‑year comparisons and could push leagues and broadcasters to value reach, demo and scheduling differently in future rights deals.