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SBD/Issue 165/The Back of the Book
MLB Ratings Up On ESPN, ESPN2 So Far This Season
Published May 19, 2005
The following chart presents ratings for Sunday, Monday and Wednesday night MLB games on ESPN and ESPN2, with comparisons to ’04. Overall, ESPN is posting an average Nielsen cable rating of 1.0 after 22 games in ’05, up 11.1% from a 0.9 after 19 games in ’04. After 12 games, ESPN2 is up 14.3% from ’04, with an average cable rating of 0.8, compared to a 0.7 through 15 games last year. Through six games, ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” average cable rating of 1.3 is down 13.3% from a 1.5 rating for six telecasts in ’04. Households are presented in millions (ESPN).
NOTES: NA = No comparable game aired. ^ = ’05 game aired on ESPN2 while the ’04 game aired on ESPN.
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| NET | DATE |
'05 GAMES |
RAT/HHs |
'04 GAMES |
RAT/HHs |
%+/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL" ON ESPN |
||||||
| ESPN2 | 4/3 |
Red Sox-Yankees |
2.7/2,396 |
Red Sox-Orioles |
1.9/1,629 |
42.1% |
| ESPN | 4/10 |
White Sox-Twins |
1.2/1,107 |
Giants-Padres |
1.8/1,596 |
-33.3% |
| ESPN | 4/17 |
Braves-Phillies |
2.0/1,795 |
Athletics-Angels |
1.3/1,184 |
53.8% |
| ESPN | 4/24 |
Angels-Athletics |
1.2/1,042 |
Braves-Marlins |
1.6/1,450 |
-25.0% |
| ESPN | 5/1 |
Mets-Nationals |
1.4/1,292 |
Red Sox-Rangers |
1.9/1,687 |
-26.3% |
| ESPN | 5/8 |
Dodgers-Reds |
1.1/1,020 |
Phillies-D'Backs |
1.0/910 |
10.0% |
| ESPN | 5/15 |
Giants-Astros |
0.9/846 |
Angels-Orioles |
1.1/985 |
-18.2% |
| "MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL" ON ESPN ('05)/ESPN2 ('04) |
||||||
| ESPN | 4/18 |
Cubs-Reds |
0.7/670 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
| ESPN | 4/25 |
Braves-Mets |
0.9/834 |
White Sox-D'Backs |
0.7/577 |
28.6% |
| ESPN | 5/2 |
Cardinals-Reds |
0.8/684 |
White Sox-Orioles |
0.5/456 |
60.0% |
| ESPN | 5/9 |
Mariners-Yankees |
0.9/822 |
Indians-Red Sox |
0.7/616 |
28.6% |
| "WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL" ON ESPN AND ESPN2 (7/8 PM ET) |
||||||
| ESPN2 | 4/6 |
Braves-Marlins |
0.8/679 |
Giants-Astros |
0.9/779 |
-11.1% |
| ESPN2 | 4/13 |
Yankees-Red Sox |
1.3/1,135 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
| ESPN2 | 4/20 |
Cubs-Cardinals |
0.9/779 |
Cardinals-Astros^ |
0.8/717 |
12.5% |
| ESPN | 4/27 |
Angels-Yankees |
1.0/898 |
Athletics-Yankees |
1.1/1,014 |
-9.1% |
| ESPN | 5/4 |
Red Sox-Tigers |
0.7/628 |
White Sox-Orioles |
0.6/518 |
16.7% |
| ESPN | 5/11 |
Dodgers-Cardinals |
0.8/729 |
Braves-Cardinals |
0.6/501 |
33.3% |
| ESPN2 | 5/11 |
Astros-Marlins |
0.4/332 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
| "WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL" ON ESPN2 (10 PM ET) |
||||||
| ESPN2 | 4/6 |
Dodgers-Giants |
0.5/407 |
Dodgers-Padres |
0.3/302 |
66.7% |
| ESPN2 | 4/13 |
Giants-Dodgers |
0.8/701 |
Padres-Giants |
0.4/360 |
100.0% |
| ESPN2 | 4/20 |
Indians-Angels |
0.5/465 |
Braves-Giants |
0.5/465 |
0.0% |
| ESPN2 | 4/27 |
D'Backs-Dodgers |
0.5/425 |
Yankees-Athletics |
0.5/427 |
0.0% |
| ESPN2 | 5/4 |
Nationals-Dodgers |
0.4/342 |
Cubs-Dodgers |
0.5/432 |
-20.0% |
NOTES: NA = No comparable game aired. ^ = ’05 game aired on ESPN2 while the ’04 game aired on ESPN.
