Florida Baseball: Big TV ratings for College World Series highlight growth

While the finals didn’t end well for Florida baseball at the Men’s College World Series, the excitement surrounding the team could not be denied. From social media interactions to our own website traffic here at Hail Florida Hail, one should not underestimate the popularity the Florida Gators had this year on the diamond.

And now, there are TV ratings to back up that college baseball might be the next breakout sport on a national level.

Florida Baseball: Watch this

Game three of the College World Series between Florida and LSU had 3.58 million viewers across all platforms.

It was the most watched telecast of any program in the country, broadcast or cable, on Monday.

To put in perspective that number compared to other major sporting events, the Stanley Cup this year between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers averaged 2.6 million viewers.

The NBA Playoffs averaged 5.47 million viewers per game.

Most NASCAR races are hovering around the three million viewers range.

The ACC Championship for football between Clemson and North Carolina football had 3.47 million viewers.

Obviously, the number for the College World Series doesn’t touch things like the NFL or the two college football playoff semifinals (which had over 21 million viewers each), but it shows that there is real interest in college baseball that is only going to continue to grow.

A combination of upgraded facilities around the country, the ability to stream every game (unless you are playing FSU), and rule changes like the pitch clock have made college baseball as enjoyable and as easy to follow as ever.

Don’t think the executives at ESPN aren’t noticing the number that the finals drew, and once ESPN gets their marketing machine behind the game, anything is possible for the growth of the game.

Could College Gameday baseball edition eventually make its way to Gainesville?

Anything is possible moving forward.