‘Baseball Night in America’ has rarely had a Saturday night to itself, and the ratings have suffered as a result.
Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Red Sox/Cubs in 39% of markets drew a 2.3 overnight rating on FOX Saturday night — up 35% from afternoon action featuring Cubs/Phillies last year (1.7), and up 15% from afternoon coverage featuring Dodgers/Red Sox in 2010 (2.0).
The 2.3 overnight is tied as the lowest ever for a primetime, regular season Major League Baseball telecast on FOX (12 telecasts).
Saturday’s telecast aired opposite third round coverage of the U.S. Open on NBC (5.5). This is the fourth time in five weeks that ‘Baseball Night in America’ has had to air opposite another marquee sporting event.
On May 26, baseball faced Game 7 of the Sixers/Celtics second round NBA playoff series on ABC. The following two weeks, coverage aired opposite both the NBA Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final.
(Saturday’s overnight from Sports Business Daily)
