Major League Baseball got off to a slightly better start in the ratings Wednesday night.
Wednesday’s Cardinals/Marlins Major League Baseball game drew a 1.6 U.S. rating and 2.416 million viewers on ESPN, up a tick in ratings and up 4% in viewership from last year’s opener (SF/LAD: 1.5, 2.325M), and down 20% and 25%, respectively, from the Opening Night game in 2010 (NYY/BOS: 2.0, 3.234M, ESPN2).
Last year’s Opening Night game took place on a Thursday night. The 2010 game aired on a Sunday night and was non-exclusive.
This marks the first time since 2008 that ratings have increased for the MLB Opening Night game.
Cardinals/Marlins was outdrawn by both Thunder/Heat on ESPN2 and Lakers/Clippers on ESPN, marking the second straight year the MLB Opening Night game has been outdrawn by both games of an NBA doubleheader.
Ratings For MLB Opening Night Game
Past decade
All ratings are U.S. ratings
(Wednesday’s numbers obtained from ESPN)
