ESPN presented its weekly Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers this past Sunday from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. The game featured at-bats from superstars including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Manny Machado and a stellar pitching duel between James Paxton and Yu Darvish. ESPN viewers were also able to enjoy a mic’d-up interview with Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar, who was on the microphone during play in the bottom of the third inning. The coverage of the matchup culminated into a viewership milestone with an average audience measurement of 1.96 million viewers, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.
The broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball peaked at 9:30 p.m. EST with nearly 2.22 million viewers, marking the property’s most-watched game in the last six years, those featuring the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox notwithstanding.
Through the first four game broadcasts of the season, which included MLB Opening Night in Seoul, South Korea and three presentations of Sunday Night Baseball, MLB games on ESPN are averaging approximately 1.72 million viewers for the 2024 season. The metric is up 20% from the same point last season, which began with a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, David Cone and Buster Olney have all remained on the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team for the 2024 campaign.
Viewership for the Padres-Dodgers game was up 38% compared to last year’s Sunday Night Baseball season average, which ended with an average of 1.45 million viewers according to Sports Business Journal. Moreover, the National League West showdown was up 58% in the Persons 18-49 demographic. The Padres ended up winning the game 6-3 after overcoming a deficit in the late innings on the strength of a three-run double from the aforementioned Profar.
ESPN will broadcast the interleague matchup between the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers and National League East division champion Atlanta Braves this Sunday, April 21 at 7 p.m. EST. Additionally, ESPN was also recently nominated for a Sports Emmy Award in the category of “Outstanding Audio/Sound – Live Event” for its Sunday Night Baseball property.
