As a regular season attraction, Major League Baseball appears to be edging closer to the NHL than the NBA.
Regional MLB action featuring Mets/Phillies drew a 1.4 final rating on FOX last Saturday, down 13% from coverage featuring Mets/Phillies last year (1.6) and down 30% from coverage featuring Yankees/Indians in ’08 (2.0).
The 1.4 rating is the lowest of the season for baseball on FOX.
Three of the four MLB telecasts on FOX this season have drawn less than a 2.0 rating.
Dating back to May 2008, 32 of the last 50 regular season MLB telecasts on FOX (64%) have drawn less than a 2.0, with twelve drawing a 1.5 or lower (24%). During the same time period, 14 of 33 regular season NBA games on ABC have drawn less than a 2.0 (42%), with four drawing a 1.5 or lower (12%).
Only once in the last 50 telecasts has FOX drawn at least a 3.0 rating. The NBA on ABC has topped a 3.0 seven times during that same period.
FOX has drawn a 2.5 or higher just 5 times in the past 50 games, or 10% of the time. That is only slightly better than the NHL on NBC, which has drawn a 2.5 or higher 5% of the time (once in the past 20 regular season telecasts, dating back to May ’08).
So far this season, FOX is averaging a 1.8 rating for MLB coverage, down 14% from last year (2.1). Last season, the network finished the season with a 1.8 average, the lowest ever for regular season baseball on broadcast TV.
Ratings For MLB Regular Season on FOX Since 2008
(Sports Business Daily)
