MLB Wrap: “MLB on FOX” Averages 1.7 Rating, New Record-Low For Baseball on Broadcast

For the fourth consecutive season, regular season Major League Baseball coverage on broadcast failed to average even 2% of U.S. television homes.

FOX averaged a 1.7 rating and 2.5 million viewers for 24 regular season MLB telecast windows during the 2012 season, Sports Business Daily reported Tuesday, down 6% in ratings and 7% in viewership from a 1.8 and 2.7 million viewers in each of the past three seasons.

The 1.7 rating is the lowest ever for the Major League Baseball “Game of the Week” on broadcast television. Baseball on FOX has now either set or tied a regular season record-low in each of the past five seasons.

In addition, ratings for baseball on FOX have either declined or remained flat in ten consecutive seasons.

This year’s record low is a surprise, considering the steps FOX took at the beginning of the season to boost ratings. The network expanded primetime coverage from three telecast windows last year to eight this year. Two low-rated August dates were removed from the schedule to avoid competition from the Olympics.

For the fifth consecutive season, baseball on FOX finished behind the NBA on ABC (3.3, 5.4M). The NBA held a whopping 94% advantage in ratings this season, the largest lead the league has held since FOX first began televising baseball in 1996 (5.3 to 2.7).

Baseball on FOX did finish ahead of the NHL on NBC (1.0, 1.6M).

Average Reg. Season Ratings/Viewership For Select Sporting Events on Broadcast
^ CBS college football average is for SEC telecasts only; NBC average is for Notre Dame only.
# NASCAR average includes 2012 Daytona 500 — an obvious advantage, considering none of the other averages include playoff/bowl games.

(MLB season averages from Sports Business Daily)