MLB off to fast start

ESPN saw its 2015 Major League Baseball season-opening viewership rise 48% versus 2014, according to the company. Through five games, which included MLB Opening Night and a MLB Opening Day quadruple-header, ESPN averaged 1,370,000 viewers versus year-ago Nielsen numbers, and is up 50% in rating with a 0.9. Monday’s lineup grew 21% in viewership, to snare 803,000 viewers.

Around the dial, MLB Network scored its most-watched Opening Day ever, with 17 consecutive hours of live studio coverage that included the premiere of the regular season morning show MLB Central. Viewership for the day rose 16% higher than Opening Day 2014, peaking with 222,000 viewers during MLB Tonight at 7p. Meanwhile, the debut of MLB Central at 10a, grew the time period’s total viewing average by 33% over 2014.

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