The bumper opening day of 2025 Major League Baseball (MLB) action – March 27 – drew the highest viewership for the league’s opening day since 2020 as intrigue over 2024 American League MVP Aaron Judge and his New York Yankees abounded.
The opening game of the day, which saw the Yankees defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on March 27, averaged 1.93 million viewers on sports pay-TV heavyweight ESPN, the most since the curiosity of the Covid-19 affected 2020 season attracted 4.1 million opening day viewers, and the most ignoring that unique season since opening day 2018.
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Peaking at 2.23 million watchers, the Yankees’ domineering win outperformed the vast majority of ESPN’s MLB broadcasts from the 2024 season, beating all but five Sunday Night Baseball regular season games for viewership.
That game began at 3pm on the US east coast and midday on the US west coast, meaning it had little competition from other sports properties, not least the high profile March Madness college basketball tournament, fixtures from which took place later in the afternoon.
The late MLB nationally televised game of the day, which saw the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4, also performed well, averaging 1.74 million viewers up against March Madness, signifying the continued high interest in the all-star Dodgers lineup and particularly National League MVP, Japan's Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers opened their own season a week prior with the MLB Tokyo Series, a pair of exhibition games played against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, that notched MLB viewership, merchandising sales, and attendance records in the country.
With this high opening day viewership, viewers may have seen the last MLB Opening Day on ESPN for the foreseeable future, with the pair reportedly set to end their longstanding broadcast partnership after the current campaign.
The network aired its first MLB game in 1990, but the pair’s relationship has become strained in recent years.
MLB has been frustrated at ESPN paring back its baseball coverage while demanding a reduction to its rights fees, while ESPN has cited deals the league has recently struck with streaming rivals Apple and Roku, which pay significantly less for exclusive games, for seeking a lower fee.
ESPN pays around $550m per year for its rights to air 30 games nationally, 25 of which were “Sunday Night Baseball,” the opening night game each season, and the Home Run Derby.
Apple, meanwhile, pays $85 million per season for a Friday night package it has aired since 2022, while Roku's deal for Sunday afternoon games is worth $10 million per year.
In a note to team owners yesterday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred suggested the league is happy to step away and test the market’s appetite for its rights.
MLB drew its largest live attendance figures in seven years, drawing more than 71.3 million fans into ballparks in 2024. Television viewership of games, including on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, also increased.
This past week, with the 2025 season having begun, a number of franchises have announced last-minute sponsorship deals.
The Boston Red Sox have brought in Krispy Krunchy Chicken as fried chicken partner, the Tampa Bay Rays have also gone down the fast food route and named Colony Grill as official pizza partner, while fellow Florida franchise the Miami Marlins tapped Neaū Water as the team’s official premium water.
