On an atypical night, MLB on FOX scored a likely record low for the sport on primetime broadcast television.
Regional Major League Baseball action earned a 1.1 final rating and 1.8 million viewers on FOX last Saturday night, down 8% in ratings and 1% in viewership from the network’s second primetime window last year (1.2, 1.8M), and down 50% and 46%, respectively, from the second such telecast in 2013 (2.2, 3.3M).
The 1.1 rating is likely the lowest ever for primetime Major League Baseball on broadcast television. Two telecasts last year had a 1.2 rating.
Keep in mind Saturday’s telecast had some unusual mitigating factors. Two of the three games scheduled to air on FOX were affected by rain, with Royals/Cubs postponed and Dodgers/Cardinals delayed by two hours. Furthermore, the telecast faced head-to-head competition from Game 7 of the Blackhawks/Ducks NHL Western Conference final, which earned a 2.6 and 4.6 million.
In other action last Saturday, Fox Sports 1 earned a 0.2 and 285,000 viewers for Diamondbacks/Brewers.
(Sat. numbers via Sports Business Daily, Awful Announcing)
