Like the NBA and NHL, Major League Baseball has seen record low ratings for its crown jewel events during this decade. The World Series and MLB All Star Game have all tumbled to record lows since 2000, though the All-Star Game bounced back last year.
However, this season, baseball is doing as well as it has done in years on television. Ratings are up across the board. On two occasions, a baseball game on FOX (Yankees/Red Sox both times) drew a better rating than a competing NBA Playoff game on ABC, and both Yankees/Red Sox games on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball have drawn superb ratings — 3.5 and 3.6, for the April 22 and June 4 games, respectively.
A large part of the reason for the increase in ratings for baseball is due to strategic scheduling. Instead of starting games on FOX in late May, Major League Baseball this season began airing games on FOX in April — and in later timeslots. While games aired at 1:00 PM in the Eastern and Pacific time zones last season, games are airing at 4:00 PM in the East this season. A later start means a later finish, and some games on FOX are ending in prime-time on the East Coast.
In addition to the strategic scheduling, FOX has been aided by the New York Yankees. The Yankees’ rivalries with the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets has resulted in major regular season numbers for FOX. Yankees/Red Sox and Yankees/Mets games draw much higher ratings than games involving any other teams. Through June 3, the five games involving the New York Yankees averaged a 2.8 rating on FOX, 12% higher than the 2.5 rating for all ten weekends of coverage on the network. The three games involving the Yankees versus Boston or the Mets averaged a 3.1 rating.
ESPN, meanwhile, is the beneficiary of smarter scheduling. By significantly reducing the amount of day telecasts and thanks to the second year of having Monday Night Baseball telecasts co-exist with local broadcasts (i.e., no blackouts), numbers have gone up 40%. Boosted by especially strong performances by two Yankees/Red Sox games, numbers have increased 45% for Sunday Night Baseball.
Smarter scheduling and prominent big market teams have allowed baseball to buck the trend of the other sports. With the World Series moving from a Saturday start to a Wednesday night start, and with scheduling for the playoffs now more strategic to avoid problematic situations such as airing two LCS games at the same time, expect the ratings renaissance to continue. FOX, especially, looks to have a highly-rated postseason; by ditching lower rated Division Series games and airing only one League Championship Series, FOX looks to end up with its highest average postseason rating in many years.
