Despite competing with coverage of the Final Four, the season debut of Major League Baseball on FOX held up in the overnights on Saturday.
Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Yankees/Tigers in 48% of markets earned a 2.3 overnight rating on FOX Saturday afternoon, even with last year’s season opener, which featured Red Sox/Tigers (2.3), and down 8% from the 2011 opener, which featured Yankees/Tigers (2.5).
Unlike this year and 2011, last year’s season-opener did not air opposite CBS coverage of the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
The 2013 season is the final full season of MLB on FOX. Starting next year, the FOX broadcast network will air only 12 regular season windows per season, with 40 other telecasts set for the Fox Sports 1 cable channel.
(Saturday’s overnight from Sports Business Daily)
