For the third straight season, Major League Baseball drew record low ratings on broadcast.
FOX averaged a 1.8 rating for 26 MLB telecasts during the 2009 season, down 10% from a 2.0 last year, down 22% from a 2.3 in ’07, and the lowest average ever for regular season Major League Baseball coverage on broadcast television. This marks the fifth straight season that regular season ratings have declined on broadcast.
This is the first time ever that Major League Baseball has averaged less than a 2.0 rating on broadcast television. 18 of the 26 regular season telecasts on FOX drew less than a 2.0, and 7 telecasts drew a rating of 1.5 or lower. All but one of the 8 telecasts to draw a 2.0 rating or higher featured the New York Yankees.
16 telecasts had declining ratings compared to last year, including 13 double-digit declines. 7 of the 9 telecasts that had increased ratings compared to last year featured the Yankees.
The 1.8 average for MLB on FOX trails the NBA regular season on ABC (2.3), NASCAR on FOX (5.1), NASCAR on ABC (3.3 through Sunday), and third and final round coverage of the PGA on NBC (2.4) and CBS (1.9), excluding majors.
This marks the second straight year that MLB on FOX has drawn a lower average rating than the NBA on ABC. The NBA outdrew Major League Baseball by 28% on broadcast this year, the largest percentage lead for the NBA over baseball since 1999 (48%; NBA 4.3, MLB 2.9). From 2003 to 2007, Major League Baseball drew higher regular season ratings than the NBA each season.
Since 2004, regular season ratings for MLB on FOX have declined 33% (2.7 to 1.8).
Last Saturday, FOX ended its regular season coverage with a 1.2 rating for regional coverage featuring Royals/Twins, tied as the lowest rating of the season.
Ratings for MLB on FOX in ’09
| Date | Featured game | Net | Rating | vs. ’08 | vs. ’07 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., 4/11/09 | Red Sox/Angels (66%) | FOX |
1.9/5
|
-30% | -21% |
| Sat., 4/18/09 | Indians/Yankees (65%) | FOX |
2.4/6
|
20% | -25% |
| Sat., 4/25/09 | Yankees/Red Sox (78%) | FOX |
2.7/6
|
35% | -7% |
| Sat., 5/2/09 | Mets/Phillies (65%) | FOX |
1.6/4
|
-20% | -24% |
| Sat., 5/9/09 | Rays/Red Sox (57%) | FOX |
1.7/5
|
-23% | -19% |
| Sat., 5/16/09 | Mets/Giants (66%) | FOX |
1.6/4
|
-11% | -43% |
| Sat., 5/23/09 | Phillies/Yankees (89%) | FOX |
1.9/5
|
12% | -21% |
| Sat., 5/30/09 | Dodgers/Cubs (70%) | FOX |
1.6/4
|
-20% | -50% |
| Sat., 6/6/09 | Phillies/Dodgers (77%) | FOX |
1.5/4
|
-25% | -21% |
| Sat., 6/13/09 | Mets/Yankees (77%) | FOX |
2.3/6
|
21% | 10% |
| Sat., 6/20/09 | Rays/Mets (72%) | FOX |
1.5/4
|
-12% | -46% |
| Sat., 6/27/09 | Red Sox/Braves (47%) | FOX |
2.0/5
|
-20% | -17% |
| Sat., 7/4/09 | Dodgers/Padres (46%) | FOX |
1.4/4
|
-53% | -44% |
| Sat., 7/11/09 | Yankees/Angels (71%) | FOX |
2.0/5
|
5% | -9% |
| Sat., 7/18/09 | Mets/Braves (49%) | FOX |
1.6/4
|
-27% | -27% |
| Sat., 7/25/09 | Cardinals/Phillies (73%) | FOX |
1.9/5
|
-32% | -14% |
| Sat., 8/1/09 | Yankees/White Sox (57%) | FOX |
1.8/5
|
-18% | -18% |
| Sat., 8/8/09 | Red Sox/Yankees (88%) | FOX |
2.7/7
|
29% | 50% |
| Sat., 8/15/09 | Phillies/Braves (60%) | FOX |
1.6/4
|
45% | -47% |
| Sat., 8/22/09 | Yankees/Red Sox (63%) | FOX |
2.3/6
|
53% | 15% |
| Sat., 8/29/09 |
Mets/Cubs (63%)
|
FOX |
1.6/4
|
-6% | 14% |
| Sat., 9/5/09 | Red Sox/White Sox (64%) | FOX |
1.3/-
|
8% | 8% |
| Sat., 9/12/09 | Braves/Cardinals (49%) | FOX |
1.2/-
|
-8% | -54% |
| Sat., 9/19/09 | Cubs/Cardinals (59%) | FOX |
1.4/3
|
-18% | -22% |
| Sat., 9/26/09 | Red Sox/Yankees (82%) | FOX |
2.1/5
|
-9% | 31% |
| Sat., 10/3/09 | Royals/Twins (61%) | FOX |
1.2/-
|
—
|
—
|
|
Average rating
|
1.8
|
-10% | -21% | ||
Sources: Sports Business Daily, Media Life Magazine, Fang’s Bites, The 506
