A move from Sunday to Thursday sank MLB Opening Night ratings, but the numbers were not bad by weeknight standards.
Compared to the last weeknight Opening Night game, Cardinals-Marlins in 2012, ratings fell 25% (from 1.6) and viewership 20% (from 2.5M).
The Giants’ win ranks as the lowest rated MLB Opening Night game since 2001 (Indians-Angels: 1.1) and the least-watched in at least a decade. The previous lows were a 1.4 (2013 and 2014) and 2.28 million (2014).
With that said, it also ranks as the most-watched weeknight baseball game on any network since 2012 — which again was the last time Opening Night took place midweek.
In other action, Indians-Mariners scored 1.0 million viewers late Thursday night. There was no comparable window on the first day of last season, a Sunday.
In the afternoon, Cubs-Marlins had 789,000 viewers (-39%) and Astros-Rangers 823,000 (-19%). Again, last year’s comparable windows took place on a Sunday. Compared to the first weekday of last season, Cubs-Marlins increased 26%, Astros-Rangers 22%, Giants-Dodgers 73% and Indians-Mariners 215% (last year’s game aired on ESPN2).
MLB Opening Night Ratings, Viewership (Past Decade)
[Thurs. numbers from ESPN PR, ShowBuzz Daily 3.30]
