The final full season of Major League Baseball on FOX got off to a slower start over Final Four weekend.
Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Yankees/Tigers earned a 1.9 final rating and 2.9 million viewers on FOX last Saturday afternoon, down 5% in ratings and 7% in viewership from coverage featuring Red Sox/Tigers last year (2.0, 3.1M), and down 5% and 8%, respectively, from coverage featuring Yankees/Tigers in 2011 (2.0, 3.2M).
The 1.9 is the lowest for the season-debut of baseball on FOX since 2010 (1.6).
Also last weekend, the Angels/Rangers “Sunday Night Baseball” game drew a 1.1 U.S. rating and 1.8 million viewers on ESPN2 — down 15% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Rangers/White Sox last year (1.3, 1.9M), and down 8% and 11%, respectively, from Giants/Dodgers in 2011 (1.2, 2.0M). As was the case in each of the past two years, the telecast aired opposite the Women’s Final Four on ESPN.
(Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
