For the second straight week, primetime Major League Baseball earned terrible numbers on FOX.
Regional MLB action on FOX earned a 1.2 final rating and 1.8 million viewers last Saturday, tying the previous week as the lowest rated primetime MLB window ever on broadcast TV. Compared to last year, when coverage featured Yankees/Red Sox, ratings and viewership each declined 46%.
The first two MLB on FOX telecasts of the season rank among the lowest rated sporting events ever on primetime broadcast TV. Game 3 of the 2007 Ducks/Senators Stanley Cup Finals earned a 1.1 and 1.6 million viewers on NBC, at the time the network’s smallest primetime audience ever. Last year, a primetime IndyCar Series race on ABC drew a 1.0 and 1.4 million.
The numbers are not just terrible for primetime. Last season, only five of 24 MLB windows on FOX earned a rating of 1.2 or lower. The first two telecasts of the season — which aired in early April — drew healthier ratings of 1.9 and 1.8.
Keep in mind Saturday’s telecast faced competition from Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals (4.9, 8.2M). Even so, last year’s telecast faced competition from both an NBA Game 6 (4.9, 8.2M) and Game 1 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals (2.0, 3.4M).
(Last wknd. numbers from Sports Business Daily)
