Major League Baseball enjoys one of the most diverse fan bases of any sport in the world and each season is considered a time-honored tradition.

Even still, it struggles to harness the strategic opportunities that new technologies have created to strengthen viewership, fan engagement and loyalty. It’s equally challenged to stay ahead of the ongoing developments between the league, its clubs, and the players.

Schoen Cooperman Research has designed quantitative studies and in-depth focus group research to help Major League Baseball:

• Create strategies to increase viewership and game attendance among key groups of fans across generations, family types, and other unique demographics;
• Develop innovative rule changes for the modern game of baseball to keep fans engaged and attract younger crowds;
• Make improvements to the MLB regular season and postseason playoff formats to maximize media exposure and fan engagement;
• Establish strategies to improve and modernize the Minor Leagues, the annual MLB Draft, and the comprehensive player development system, and increase minor league patronization;
• Assess relocation and new stadium investment decisions for the Oakland Athletics and the Pawtucket Red Sox as they considered relocating their stadiums, identifying local market issues and challenges each team faced.

Our advanced models, strategic plans, and consumer research have been vital to Major League Baseball’s success in continuing to increase fan engagement and gameday attendance while navigating the changing ways that fans are watching sports and consuming content.

We have also driven long-term strategy with its owners and players. In particular, our latest work helped shape league strategies in the negotiations on the latest 2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement between players and club owners.