MLB social media hits 19.1 billion views with pop culture push

Major League Baseball’s English and Spanish social media channels recorded 19.1 billion views during the 2026 regular season. That figure sets a record for the league, which has aggressively shifted its digital strategy to capture audiences that previously ignored the sport.

The new approach relies heavily on pop culture crossovers rather than traditional game coverage. On October 2, the league’s main Instagram and TikTok accounts posted a playoff promotion video. The montage featured players from the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago White Sox. The video was set to the song "My Way" by Olivia Rodrigo. The track is an album cut, not a single, and the clip gained 2.1 million views on Instagram and 615,000 on TikTok.

Cameron Gidari, the league’s vice president of social media and innovation, says the team chose the song because they are fans of Rodrigo. He notes that the edit allows the community to see themselves represented in baseball marketing. The goal is to move away from an editorial tone that focuses only on statistics and game facts. Instead, the league aims for a tone that feels like shared fandom.

The league is deploying 400 creators who produced a combined 3,800 pieces of content this year. These creators now attend regular season games, not just major events. Rachel Richter, the director of influencer strategy, explains that the league works with influencers in food, fashion, lifestyle, gaming, and family niches. The strategy targets casual fans who might attend a game for the atmosphere or food rather than the baseball itself.

This shift reverses a stricter copyright stance the league held in 2024. At that time, creators like Jimmy "Jomboy" O’Brien received takedown requests for their analysis videos. Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged that the league mishandled that fanbase. The league acquired a stake in O’Brien’s media company and recently granted creators access to archival footage for their projects.

The expansion comes as the league prepares for a critical labor negotiation. The current collective bargaining agreement expires in December. If owners and players do not reach a deal, a lockout is likely. Such a lockout could shorten the 2027 season. The league must manage this uncertainty while promoting the new, casual-friendly image of the sport.