MLB sees double-digit viewership increases in US and Japan
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases on a solo home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, June 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball's viewer numbers in the United States and Japan during the first two months of the season have seen double-digit increases, MLB and Nielsen reported Tuesday.
ESPN's coverage is up 22%, averaging 1.74 million viewers. It is the most-watched season on ESPN through the first two months since 2017.
Advertisement
This might be the last year ESPN is carrying baseball after it opted out of its rights deal in February.
The MLB Tuesday package on TBS has a 16% increase. Fox Sports is up 10%, averaging 1.84 million viewers per game.
Last Saturday night's 18-2 rout by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the New York Yankees averaged 2.2 million on Fox.
The MLB.TV streaming package has seen its viewers increase 27%, with more than 7.5 billion minutes watched through Monday.
Games on the NHK channels in Japan are averaging 2.7 million. The average does not include the Tokyo Series games between the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs which began the regular season.
Advertisement
The ratings are on pace for MLB's most-watched regular season in Japan as the audience has increased every year since 2021.
On MLB.TV, streaming viewership has increased 27% vs 2024, which was the most-watched season in the history of the service. For games through Monday, June 2, MLB.TV has more than 7.5 billion minutes watched this season.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
UFC 316 live updates: Time, streaming for Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 card
UFC 316 live updates: Time, streaming for Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 card Show Caption Hide Caption Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 prediction | UFC 316 breakdown MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom offers his breakdown and prediction for the UFC 316 main event. dan tom Sean O'Malley is set to return to the octagon – healthy and fully recovered from surgery on a torn labrum in his hip. O'Malley (18-2-0) will face UFC Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4-0) in the main event at UFC 316 on Saturday, marking O'Malley's first match in nearly nine months since he lost to Dvalishvili via unanimous decision at UFC 306. O'Malley was stripped of his UFC Bantamweight title with the loss and is out for revenge. Dvalishvili, however, is not ready to give the title back. 'I'm not going to give my belt to no one. This is mine and it's staying with me. I'm going to make this guy humble again,' he said Thursday. Before O'Malley and Dvalishvili take the octagon, Julianna Peña (13-5-0) will defend her women's UFC Bantamweight title against Kayla Harrison (18-1-0), a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo (2012 London Games, 2016 Rio Olympics). Here's everything you need to know about UFC 316: UFC 316: Time, PPV, streaming for Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 The highly anticipated rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley will take place on Saturday, June 7 and can be purchased on ESPN+ PPV. Date: Saturday, June 7 Saturday, June 7 Location: Prudential Center (Newark, New Jersey) Prudential Center (Newark, New Jersey) Early prelims start time: 6 p.m. ET 6 p.m. ET Early prelims stream: ESPN+, Disney+ ESPN+, Disney+ Prelims card start time: 8 p.m. ET 8 p.m. ET Prelims card TV: ESPN; Prelims stream: ESPN+, Disney+ ESPN; ESPN+, Disney+ Main card start time : 10 p.m. ET : 10 p.m. ET Main card stream: ESPN+ PPV Catch UFC action with an ESPN+ subscription
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Super Bowl champ Chris Canty accused of letting tenant go without utilities for 2 years in ‘appalling' campaign against renter: ‘Wants to destroy me'
Former star New York Giant defensive lineman Chris Canty has gone on offense — against his Upper West Side tenant. The Super Bowl champ and co-host of ESPN Radio's 'Unsportsmanlike' has been accused of unnecessary roughness as he tries to oust the last remaining resident of a five-story, $5.2 million townhouse Canty owns, according to court records. The 6-foot-7-inch, 380-pound defensive end wants to transform the nine-unit West 89th Street building into his own luxury townhouse — but 5-foot-6 data analyst Stuart Kalmenson stands in his way. 'I had the choice of either getting bullied, or fighting the good fight,' Kalmenson said. Kalmenson, 59, has lived in his two-bedroom apartment just steps from Central Park for 19 years, paying $2,600 a month rent when Canty, who works out of NYC for ESPN and has a home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, bought the building. But his longtime home has become a house of horrors. Kalmenson has spent more than two years without utilities, made it through the winter without heat or hot water; and lives with floors so rotted and chewed through by mice he's been force 'to 'block off' about one-third of the living room for safety reasons,' he claimed in court filings. He kept warm with a space heater and washes his clothes in the bathtub, alleged Kalmenson, who told the court the condition of his home was 'truly appalling and unsafe,' records show. 'He just wants to destroy me,' Kalmenson, who has traded multiple legal blows with Canty, told The Post. The rest of the tenants moved out as their leases expired, about three months after the 2011 Super Bowl winner bought the building in March 2020, Canty said in court papers. Around the same time, Kalmenson — who had lost his job during the pandemic — had planned to move into a friend's basement, but the arrangement fell through at the last minute, he said. After that, he negotiated with Canty's real estate management company and became a month-to-month tenant, invoices provided by Kalmenson showed. But by July 2020, Canty filed in housing court to give Kalmenson the boot. The proceeding is ongoing. Then in November 2020, a construction crew started work, stripping the halls and other units to the studs with Kalmenson and his Spaniel, Charles, inside. Canty denied wrongdoing. 'Mr. Kalmenson's allegations are without merit,' said Canty's lawyer, William M. Moran. The former NFL-er was fined $20,000 by the city Buildings Department in 2021 for falsely claiming the building was empty when the work began, and not having a 'tenant protection plan' in place for Kalmenson, according to DOB records. That same year, Canty began eviction proceedings against Kalmenson, accusing him of overstaying his lease. At the same time he accused the tenant in a separate Manhattan lawsuit of 'a campaign of intimidation and harassment' against him and of filing 'spurious claims with the Department of Buildings.' In October 2021, Canty offered Kalmenson $45,000 to move out — but the tenant said he chose to stay, because he'd just been approved for emergency pandemic rental relief which allowed him to stay in his home another year. The construction stopped in April, after Kalmenson counter-sued Canty in Manhattan Supreme Court. The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development has also slapped the former lineman with 410 violations since2022 and sued him twice for the violations — ultimately settling for a total of $8,000, records show. Kalmenson insisted in court papers that prior landlords violated the law by treating the building as a co-operative, when it should have been rent stabilized — a move which would have allowed the residents to stay after Canty purchased it. Canty, who is also being sued by the city and state for allegedly evading more than $1 million in taxes related to his purchase of the property, claims the building is still a co-op and should not be deemed rent stabilized, legal papers show. 'If I'm entitled to a rent stabilized lease. I don't need to get bullied out of my own home by some guy just because he happened to be a football player,' Kalmenson said. Canty spent 11 years in the NFL as part of the Giants, the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens before retiring in 2015. He began working in radio in 2021, when he joined 98.7 FM's DiPietro, Canty & Rothenberg weekday morning show. A rep for Canty didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York Post
34 minutes ago
- New York Post
Bryce Harper lands on injured list in brutal Phillies blow
Philly's best has taken a hit. The Phillies placed Bryce Harper on the 10-day injured list due to his ailing right wrist before Saturday's game against the Pirates. This came after the two-time National League MVP sat out of the Phillies' 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday night. Advertisement In a corresponding move, the team called up Otto Kemp, who is their No. 24 prospect on MLB Pipeline, from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. With Harper, the team's primary first baseman, out, the Phillies are expected to play third baseman Alec Bohm at first. 3 Bryce Harper has been placed on the 10-day injury list on Saturday. AP On May 27, Harper was drilled in the right elbow on a pitch from Braves starter Spencer Strider — missing five games — and has also been dealing with a sore wrist. Advertisement He went 1-for-11 upon returning from the elbow issue before landing on the IL. This wrist issue isn't exactly new, as the eight-time All-Star also was dealing with right wrist pain for a lot of last year and played through it. The Phillies are hopeful that any long-term damage can be prevented with the extra rest. Advertisement This season, Harper is hitting .258 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 57 games. The Phillies have dropped seven of their last eight games, losing a two-game lead in the NL East to the Mets, who now hold a 2 1/2 game edge in the division entering Saturday's play. Kemp, who has yet to play in the majors, has hit .317 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs in 57 games in Triple-A. 3 Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts to striking out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 4, 2025. Getty Images Advertisement 3 Bryce Harperof the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates his solo home run in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 3, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Getty Images His 14 home runs have led the International League, while his 1.010 OPS ranked second. He was also the International League Player of the Month for April. The Phillies also called up pitcher Daniel Robert from Lehigh Valley and optioned righty Alan Rangel in exchange. Rangel made his major league debut on Friday and gave up two runs in three innings of relief. It will be Robert's third stint with the Phillies this season.
