Pro Bowl Draws Larger Audience Than MLB All-Star Game

The NFL Pro Bowl averaged 12.5 million viewers, according to ProFootballTalk, which was 1.5 million more than the MLB All-Star game.

The major contrast between the two events is that Major League Baseball has put an emphasis on the competitive nature of the game where the NFL Pro Bowl is widely seen as much more of an event put on “for fun.” The MLB All-Star Game, which takes place at the midpoint of the baseball season, decides which league gets home field advantage in that year’s World Series. The NFL All-Star game however is widely viewed as an event to fill the bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

A hybrid of the two, the NHL All-Star Game, was played last night and received a 1.0 overnight rating, according to Yahoo! Sports. This game is played in the middle of the NHL season, but teams are split up by a draft rather than by league or conference.