Founded in 1930 primarily to counter ticket speculation and scalping, The Broadway League has expanded its mission and programs over time.

In addition to negotiating labor agreements with 14 unions in New York City and engaging in lobbying initiatives throughout the country, The League recognizes excellent works and artists through award programs such as the Tony Awards, promotes the Broadway theatre industry through audience development programs such as Kids' Night on Broadway and Viva Broadway, and provides periodic studies and industry information such as box office grosses and demographic surveys for journalists, scholars, and the general public.

It was founded by Broadway theatre operators to further common interests, with the main purpose of fighting ticket speculation and scalping.

"[7] The League's first successful act was the writing of the Theater Ticket Code of Fair Practice (together with Actors' Equity) which became a state law in 1940.

In 1938, the League became the official collective bargaining unit representing the theatre owners and producers on Broadway to negotiate labor agreements with unions such as Actors' Equity.

In a press statement announcing the name change, the League explained that its membership is "not limited to theatre owners and producers, but includes Broadway presenters, general managers and other Broadway industry professionals," and the new name "more aptly reflects the composition of the League's membership.

Broadway productions are fully unionized, and all employees are members of unions such as Actors' Equity Association (AEA), Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), Local 802 of American Federation of Musicians (AFM), and Local One of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

[14] The economic impact of the strike spread beyond the Broadway shows, to nearby restaurants, hotels, gift shops, and bars.

Tim Tompkins, the head of the Times Square Business Improvement District, explained that "a lot of folks come to New York specifically to go to a Broadway show and with this cloud of uncertainty, they postpone or cancel their trips.

Recent lobbying efforts by the League include opposing an 8 percent levy on theatre tickets proposed by Governor David Paterson in 2009, and securing tax deductions for suppliers of physical goods used by theatrical productions.

[24] The awards were presented by the League to "celebrate excellence in touring Broadway by honoring the artists and productions that visit cities across the country each year.

[31][32] The 2013 concert, hosted by Mario Lopez, was aired at various times and dates in 18 cities across the United States and included interviews from the then Tony nominees such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrea Martin, Mark Rylance, and Rob Ashford.

In 2012, the League launched a new audience development program named Viva Broadway, which focuses on Hispanic communities around the country.

[41] In 2012, the League introduced a free iOS app for IBDB that contain much of the same information as the website, as well as photos and videos from current Broadway productions.

In addition, many reference documents, including weekly box office grosses and season-by-season statistics, are available to the public, journalists, and scholars via the website.

Theatre publications such as The New York Times, Playbill, and Variety publish databases and articles using data provided by the League.

[42] To obtain demographic information, the League hands out questionnaires at select performances to directly survey audience members.

The survey tracks basic demographic information such as their gender, age, place of residence, and ethnicity, as well as theatergoing behaviors such as the number of plays and musicals they have attended in the past six months.