2025 Year in Review: Social Media continues to boost international Baseball/Softball global visibility
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)’s social media platforms continue to strengthen their role as a key driver of visibility for international Baseball/Softball in 2025, supporting the organisation’s wider digital strategy through compelling storytelling, timely coverage and sustained fan engagement.
Throughout the year, major international tournaments provided strong content pillars across a range of different platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X, WhatsApp, LinkedIn.
Flagship youth competitions, including the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup and the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup, offered a global stage for emerging talent, while Baseball and Softball's path to the LA28 Olympic Games added further relevance and momentum to its digital presence.
Across all platforms, the WBSC recorded overall audience growth of 25 per cent, surpassing 1.7 million total followers at the end of the year.
Instagram continued to perform strongly, with the main WBSC account reaching more than 191,000 followers, an 18 per cent increase year-on-year. The dedicated Premier12 Instagram account also gained traction ahead of the next qualification cycle, climbing to 24,400 followers and reinforcing anticipation around the competition.
TikTok remained a key growth engine in 2025, expanding by 23 per cent to reach 133,800 followers. The platform’s short-form, dynamic content proved effective in connecting with younger audiences, especially by highlighting the speed, skill and emotion of the game.
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♬ original sound - WBSC
On Facebook, the WBSC consolidated its position as its largest social media platform, growing by 10 per cent to reach 755,000 followers. The WBSC Softball World Cups Facebook page also delivered notable gains, increasing its audience by 16 per cent to 72,000 followers, reflecting sustained interest in the women’s game, especially ahead of the LA28 Olympic Games and the announcement that the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals 2027 will take place in Brisbane, Australia - home of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
The WBSC’s presence on X remained stable throughout the year, with the main account holding at approximately 127,000 followers and continuing to serve as a reliable source for official news and competition updates. The WBSC Premier12 X account finished the year at around 39,400 followers, maintaining consistent engagement.
Original digital series played an important role in strengthening audience connection. Features such as Gametime Classics, Player of the Day and Path to Glory aligned closely with fan expectations, offering a mix of nostalgia, personality and competition-driven storytelling.
While on YouTube, the WBSC continued to expand its long-form and premium video offering. The channel grew by eight per cent in 2025, reaching 220,000 subscribers and reinforcing its role as a hub for full-game highlights and extended content.
The WBSC digital ecosystem was further supported by dedicated accounts - including Baseball5, GameTime and eSports on Instagram, which reached 66,700, 6,800 and 1,000 followers respectively, as well as channels on Twitch, Discord, Flickr and in China, Japan and Korea - helping deliver fast-paced, fan-first content tailored to specific audiences.
Meanwhile, in July, the WBSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) aimed at enhancing collaboration and digital engagement through the ANOC Digital Content Hub.
With a packed international calendar ahead in 2026, the WBSC’s social media platforms are well positioned to build on the progress made in 2025, supporting global engagement as the international Baseball/Softball enters another important year, especially with the World Baseball Classic and WBSC Premier12 qualifiers taking place ahead of another appearance in the Olympic Games at LA28 along with Baseball5 making its debut in the Youth Olympic Games.