• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Front Office Sports Honors winners are here! View the 2025 winners

MLB TV Ratings Jump: Fox Up 10%, ESPN Hits Eight-Year High

As MLB experiences another bump in attendance, national TV audiences are growing, too, and so are some international ones. 

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

While MLB continues to enjoy another increase at the turnstiles, fans are also tuning in to game broadcasts in greater numbers this year.

The league said Tuesday that each of its national TV partners is posting audience increases so far this season. Among the individual tallies:

  • Fox is up 10% compared to last year, to an average of 1.84 million viewers per game.
  • ESPN, despite its intent to walk away three years early from its MLB rights, is up 22% for its coverage to a per-game average of 1.74 million, the network’s best baseball audience since 2017. 
  • In Japan, MLB viewership has grown 22% to an average audience of 2.7 million, even when excluding the record-setting Tokyo Series in March. Because of the time-zone differences, most MLB games air in the morning in Japan. 
  • Double-digit percentage increases have also been posted for viewership on other platforms such as the league’s own MLB.TV and MLB Network Showcase game telecasts, and Tuesday-night coverage on TBS. 

Highlighting the viewership data is an average draw of 2.7 million viewers and a peak of 3.1 million on Sunday Night Baseball for the June 1 finale of the high-profile Yankees-Dodgers weekend series that served as a rematch of sorts to the 2024 World Series. The viewership figure represented the best individual game audience for the primetime showcase in seven years.

The increases follow a 1.8% bump in MLB attendance so far in the 2025 regular season to an average of nearly 28,000 per game. The increase, fueled in part by strategic scheduling and the fan appeal of big stars such as the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Yankees’ Aaron Judge, would be the league’s third straight if it holds for the entire season. 

Next Man Up

Roughly a year after Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes arrived in the big leagues, the Royals have brought up the game’s latest young phenom, highly touted outfielder/first baseman Jac Caglianone. Selected sixth in the 2024 MLB draft, Caglianone has dominated in his short time in the minor leagues, hitting .322 with 15 home runs and 56 runs batted in across 50 games in Double-A and Triple-A play this year. 

The Royals could have delayed Caglianone’s salary arbitration eligibility for an additional year had they kept him in the minors until later this month. The MLB Players Association, however, has actively sought to discourage such activity and has created various structures with the league in recent labor deals to help bring top talent up from the minors sooner. 

As a result, Caglianone is the first Royals hitter to reach the majors within one year of being drafted since Bo Jackson in 1986. 

Kansas City is looking for an offensive boost, as the club’s 194 runs scored entering Tuesday’s games were tied for the second worst in MLB, beating only the historically woeful Rockies. That meager performance at the plate is helping spoil what is the league’s fourth-best earned run average from the pitching staff. Caglianone brings tape-measure power to the Royals and will pair in the team’s lineup with perennial Most Valuable Player candidate Bobby Witt Jr.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

6 Burning Questions About Reimagined MLB Rights Deals

MLB’s rights are changing significantly, but questions still remain.
exclusive

Ohio State Bars Dave Portnoy from Stadium in Fox Debut

Portnoy will appear on “Big Noon Kickoff” but not inside the stadium.

YouTube TV, Fox Standoff Puts CFB Viewers in Jeopardy

Subscribers could find themselves without access to marquee matchups.

Netflix to Stream Entire 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan

Netflix picks up Japanese rights to the upcoming international tournament.

Featured Today

‘You’re Going to Get Beat Up’: The Liberty’s All-Male Practice Squad

A select group suits up weekly to take on the defending champs.
August 24, 2025

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up as the Texas Longhorns prepare to play the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
August 23, 2025

Schools Are Hesitant to Allow PE Into Their Athletic Departments

Regardless of budget, schools don’t believe the risk is worth the reward.
Oct 2, 2024; Rosemont, IL, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks with the media during the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
August 22, 2025

‘Not Ready to Jump In’: Power 4 Commissioners Aren’t Sold on PE

Top leaders in college sports have yet to see a satisfactory proposal.

Former Tennis Channel CEO Sues Sinclair Over Voided 8-Figure Payday

The former network executive cites a financial pretext to his firing.
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announces the pick for the Athletics pick during the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy.
August 21, 2025

MLB Confident New Rights Will Exceed $550M ESPN Deal

MLB would redistribute rights forfeited by ESPN back in February.
August 24, 2025

Bill Belichick Tells UNC Football Team Hulu Series Is Happening

FOS reported last month that the Hulu series was nearing finalization.
Sponsored

Building A Pro League From Scratch

Front Office Sports and Gainbridge® spotlight what it takes to build a professional women’s soccer league.
August 21, 2025

NBC’s MLB Chase Built on Vision for Yearlong Sunday Night Sports

NBC Sports is gunning for a Sunday night slate rivaling “The Sopranos.”
August 21, 2025

Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica on Fox Changes, New Studio, Working With Portnoy

Fallica is in his third year as Fox’s sports betting expert.
August 20, 2025

Rich Eisen Will Host More ‘SportsCenters’ After Standout Return

Eisen’s nostalgia-oriented Monday “SportsCenter” drew rave reviews.
August 19, 2025

MLB Nears Media Shake-Up: ESPN, NBC, Netflix In, Apple Out?

Sources told FOS that local rights are of particular interest to ESPN.