caulfield12 Posted Tuesday at 08:05 AM Share Posted Tuesday at 08:05 AM (edited) Feww would complain about averaging more than 800,000 viewers for a 3 am (PST) Dodgers/Cubs game that started so early — but nobody would argue that MLB maximized its potential audience (starting in Japan). Consider how the other “Big Four” leagues begin their seasons. In the NFL, the defending champion hosts its annual Kickoff Game in primetime on NBC. In the NBA, the defending champion hosts the season opener in primetime on TNT (and starting this fall, NBC). In the NHL, the defending champion hosts a primetime game on ESPN. Not so in baseball. For years, MLB did start its season with a primetime, standalone showcase on ESPN, but the league has largely gone away from that since moving the start of the season to midweek. MLB has done good work in creating event programming such as games at Field of Dreams and Rickwood Field, but it has been mostly lax in setting aside the kind of high-profile, season-opening and holiday matchups that are a hallmark of other leagues. That is in keeping with the league’s broader approach that views national media partners less as collaborators in the game’s growth and more as expendable platforms secondary to local television. As long as MLB continues to treat national TV as an afterthought, so too will national TV respond in kind. https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/03/monday-musings-march-madness-cinderella-future-mlb-bob-costas-mnf-foreman/ Edited Tuesday at 08:09 AM by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted 15 hours ago Share Posted 15 hours ago The ratings in Japan were massive. And mlb is positioning global rights media deals as it expands viewership internationally. MLB having the largest inventory of live games is a blessing and a curse. You can’t compare it to them other leagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted 15 hours ago Author Share Posted 15 hours ago Dodgers-Cubs opener in Tokyo averages more than 25 million viewers in Japan, a record audience. Tuesday's first game of the Tokyo Series averaged more than 25 million viewers in Japan according to Major League Baseball, making it the most-watched MLB game in the country's history. 838,000 on Fox Tuesday (Yamamoto vs.Imanaga), 361,000 FS1 on Wed (Sasaki debut at 3 am PST) Japan/MLB contract worth in the $50-$75 million range and rising... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted 15 hours ago Share Posted 15 hours ago 15 hours ago, caulfield12 said: Dodgers-Cubs opener in Tokyo averages more than 25 million viewers in Japan, a record audience. Tuesday's first game of the Tokyo Series averaged more than 25 million viewers in Japan according to Major League Baseball, making it the most-watched MLB game in the country's history. 838,000 on Fox Tuesday (Yamamoto vs.Imanaga), 361,000 FS1 on Wed (Sasaki debut at 3 am PST) Japan/MLB contract worth in the $50-$75 million range and rising... Expand So what I said then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted 14 hours ago Author Share Posted 14 hours ago 15 hours ago, ewokpelts said: So what I said then? Expand yes, I'm just putting the actual numbers out there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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