The hype around the Cubs heading into the '15 season helped ESPN to its best figure for an MLB opener since '10. The Cardinals' 3-0 defeat of the Cubs last night drew a 2.1 overnight rating on ESPN2, the best since Yankees-Red Sox opened the '10 season on ESPN2. Last night's game was up 40% from a 1.5 overnight for Dodgers-Padres on ESPN last year. Cardinals-Cubs also is up from a 1.5 overnight for Rangers-Astros on ESPN in '13. Last night's game drew a 17.7 local rating in St. Louis, marking the net's best regular-season MLB telecast ever in the market. Chicago drew a 7.6 local rating, which is ESPN's best regular-season MLB figure in the market in five years (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
CAUGHT LOOKING: USA TODAY's Ted Berg noted ESPN last night for Cardinals-Cubs used its K-Zone, a "transparent rectangle to represent the strike zone," on every pitch, but fans "did not like it." Berg wrote K-Zone "completely changes the aesthetic of watching a baseball game, and it doesn’t seem to be a terribly accurate representation of the umpire’s actual strike zone." If ESPN "pays attention to the fan response, it’s probably not going to last very long" (USATODAY.com, 4/5). In Tampa, Tom Jones writes, "Not sure I like this idea. I don't even like TBS's use of the strike-zone box and that's limited to the corner of the television screen." A box over the middle of the plate "sounds like it could be a distraction" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/6).
CUBS COUNTRY: In Chicago, Ed Sherman noted both the Cubs and White Sox were "lauded for making bold moves during the offseason" after each lost 89 games in '14, but "only one of the Chicago teams is scheduled to be featured prominently on national TV during the first portion of the season." Sherman: "In the some-things-never-change department, naturally it is the Cubs." The nets this year are "ready to ride" the train of Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein, while "taking a wait-and-see approach" on White Sox Senior VP & GM Rick Hahn's work with his team. In addition to last night's game, the Cubs are "scheduled for five national games on Fox, including three Saturday prime-time telecasts." Meanwhile, the White Sox "don't have a have a game listed on ESPN's Sunday night schedule and their only Fox telecast thus far is a Saturday night game against the Tigers on June 6." The mere promise of a "dramatic turnaround has the networks salivating to get in on the Cubs' action" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/5).
