To say the Major League Baseball Playoffs stumbled out of the gate might be generous. ESPN can’t possibly be happy with the added playoff inventory if the interest just isn’t there. According to ShowBuzz Daily, it isn’t, at least not in the middle of the day.
Two of the first three games of the MLB Postseason each failed to draw a million viewers. The White Sox’s game in Oakland, which started at 3 pm, drew just 953,000 viewers. The 5 pm start between the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays drew just over 800,000 viewers.
It isn’t hard to guess what the problem is. These games both started in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. Even if a lot of people are working from home, it isn’t an ideal time to start a playoff baseball game.
On the plus side, ESPN has to be happy with the Yankees and Indians. That game drew an audience of nearly 2.6 million. Despite the fact that New York won in a blowout, the game was still the only thing not related to the Presidential debate in the top 15 cable programs for Tuesday.
ESPN has not been shy about its desire to acquire more Major League Baseball Playoff inventory in the future. The league recently signed new deals with both Turner and FOX locking in those networks’ commitments to postseason baseball. With these numbers out while the League and ESPN are still in negotiations, it remains to be seen if ESPN loses some enthusiasm or at the very least, demands a price reduction.
