St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs Delivers 2.1 Overnight Rating, Up 40 Percent from Past Two Years
Major League Baseball’s Opening Night telecast presented by Scotts, which saw the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 at Wrigley Field, delivered a 2.1 overnight rating on ESPN2, according to Nielsen. This marks MLB’s highest-rated Opening Night in five years (since 2010) and is up 40 percent compared to Opening Night in 2014 and 2013 (1.5).
Local success
Opening Night on ESPN2 also enjoyed significant success in local markets. In St. Louis, the telecast drew a 17.7 rating, making it the highest-rated regular-season MLB telecast on any ESPN network ever in the market. In Chicago, the game delivered a 7.6, making it the highest-rated regular-season MLB game in the market on ESPN networks in five years.
Opening Day on ESPN
On Monday, April 6, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise an MLB Opening Day quadruple header, beginning at 1 p.m. ET when the New York Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays. In the second game, the New York Mets will visit the Washington Nationals at 4 p.m. Afternoon action will be followed by a prime-time doubleheader as the Cleveland Indians visit the Houston Astros at 7 p.m. and the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants visit the Arizona Diamondbacks at 10 p.m. on ESPN2
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Media contact: Ben Cafardo at 860-766-3496 or [email protected] (@Ben_ESPN).
