MLB on FOX delivered another year-over-year increase despite hitting a season-low. In other news, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball scored a big increase over last year’s rain-delayed action, and local ratings are up double-digits for the Cleveland Indians.
MLB on FOX Up Again Despite Season-Low
- Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Mets/Braves in 37% of markets earned 2.1 million viewers on FOX last Saturday night, up 12% from last year (1.9M) but down 25% from the network’s sixth telecast in 2014 (2.9M). Of the five MLB on FOX windows that can be compared to last year, four have posted increases. Viewership was still the lowest of the season on FOX. In other action, Fox Sports 1 scored 315,000 for Padres/Reds.
Big Jump, With Caveat, For Sunday Night Baseball
- Dodgers/Pirates scored 1.7 million viewers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last weekend, up 47% from last year’s rain-delayed Cubs/Cardinals game, which did not end until after 1 AM ET (1.2M) and down 41% from Rangers/Angels in 2014, which aired immediately after a United States World Cup match (2.9M). In other action, Astros/Angels scored 559,000 on Monday night (-16%) and Mets/Nationals had 466,000 on ESPN2 Wednesday (-32%).
Cleveland Indians Ratings Up Double-Digits
- Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball games have averaged a 5.3 rating on SportsTime Ohio thus far this season, up 31% from last year, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. That includes a 9.5 rating for Indians/Braves on Monday night, the team’s highest rating on its RSN in nearly two years.
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], [3], [4]; Cleveland.com)
