BASEBALL LIKELY TO BENEFIT FROM NFL, NBA PLAYER DISPUTES

Disputes between players and owners of NFL and NBA franchises that threaten to shut down the fall seasons for professional football and basketball have caused advertisers to redirect some of their spending to Major League Baseball and college football telecasts, Daily Variety reported today (Monday). The first weeks of the baseball season have already shown ratings gains, the trade publication observed, with ESPN’s coverage of the Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees matchup on April 10 drawing 4.7 million viewers — the biggest audience for an MLB telecast in nearly two years. Moreover, unlike most other sports, Variety observed, baseball, which offers games seven days a week, provides “a steady stream of programming” for ESPN, Fox, and TBS. And, the trade paper noted, the fledgling MLB Network, which only launched two years ago, is increasing the number of games it will be carrying live to 100 — including 30 games featuring all 30 MLB teams airing Tuesdays through Saturdays in April.