FOX scored one of its better Major League Baseball audiences of late for a high-profile matchup of the Yankees and Dodgers.
Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX featuring Dodgers-Yankees in most markets averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.91 million viewers on FOX Saturday night, the most-watched regular season MLB telecast since a Red Sox-Yankees game on FOX in September 2022 at the height of the Aaron Judge home run chase (3.23M).
Ratings increased 8% and viewership 14% from the same window last year, which featured Red Sox-Yankees (1.45, 2.56M). The increase in viewership came despite a decline for the preceding Belmont Stakes, which at a 1.8 and 3.30 million provided less of a lead-in than a year ago (1.9, 3.52M).
The same Dodgers-Yankees matchup drew a 1.2 and 2.30 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, up 6% and 18% respectively from Red Sox-Yankees a year ago (1.1, 1.94M) and the network’s most-watched regular season game since Red Sox-Yankees on the opening Sunday of the 2022 season (2.40M).
Friday’s matchup of the teams aired nationally on Apple TV+, which is not Nielsen rated. In New York, coverage on YES Network drew 406,000 viewers to rank as the second-most watched game of the season.
In other MLB action, the Phillies-Mets London Series averaged a 0.8 and 1.48 million across FOX and ESPN. The Saturday game drew a 0.9 and 1.62 million on FOX, down from Cubs-Cardinals from London last year (1.0, 1.80M). The Sunday game had a 0.7 and 1.36 million on ESPN, flat in ratings and up 17% in viewership compared to last year (0.7, 1.17M).
Good numbers for Yankees-Dodgers series. I do think MLB is wasting its time/money on these London series. MLB should really focus on promoting the game in this country more than internationally. I think a better idea would be to have a series of games in different parts of the US (and Canada) where there is not an MLB team. Play a series in Hawaii? or Alaska? Or, go to Nashville, TN? So many places in this country to promote the game. I know they have the game in Alabama coming up later this month. And the Field of Dreams was great the first time. It would benefit to travel the country and pick a different city each year. This would make more sense than doing the same game in London year after year. To me it’s a waste of time, and money and doesnt help grow the sport where it needs to grow the most, which is in this country.
The Dream World Series Matchup. Very Very Important for these two clubs to play in the Fall Classic (with some drama leading up to it, not like how this years’ Celtics breezed to the championship round).
For the record Im a Tigers fan and can’t stand the Yankees. But this is the series the MLB really needs.
Why did MLB put its best possible matchup on the same weekend as the Stanley cup/NBA finals? Wouldn’t it be better on a weekend without so much competition?
I don’t think it’s such a crazy strategy. You get late enough in the summer and there’s no competition for a reason — people are not watching as much TV. Better to get a little lost in the shuffle on a weekend where people are tuned to live sports.
It was also scheduled back in September 2023, before NBA/NHL playoff dates were finalized! FOX easily could have had the night to itself under different circumstances.
That actually isn’t the case — NBA Finals dates are set well in advance.
MLB scheduling the Dodgers/Yankees series during the start of the NBA Finals is so on brand
They drew an excellent viewership number almost at nhl finals viewership. Also the nba finals dates are set in April while the mlb schedule is set in the previous September.
The NBA schedule is released sometime in August, a little before MLB’s schedule for the next season is announced.
MLB just chooses to mostly ignore other leagues for whatever reason. It took them forever to move off of Sundays when the NFL primetime NBC games always killed the World Series.
Don’t really understand why London was down on Fox. Maybe they spent so much time talking about Yankees/Dodgers the London series became an afterthought.
The pre and postgame crews on fox are so so bad- star studded yes but they’re so bad.