MLB local ratings roundup for 2023: Cubs up, White Sox down
But the South Side team isn’t the league’s worst-rated
Even though neither the Cubs and the White Sox made the playoffs this year, at least one team managed to score a victory in the ratings department.
According to final 2023 regular-season ratings released Tuesday (see below), the Cubs scored an increase for a season where they played better than they did in 2022, despite the team collapsing down the stretch (and before you ask, the 1969 collapse is still the gold standard in terms of blowing it.) The Cubs averaged a 2.16 household live-plus-same day rating on Marquee Sports Network, up 34 percent from 2022 and is fifth-largest increase among all MLB teams.
Earlier this year, Marquee launched an new app to reach cord-cutters in a new direct-to-consumer option without a cable subscription. The numbers do not include those who viewed using the app, or replays of games on the main channel.
On the other side of town, the Chicago White Sox recorded the biggest drop of any MLB team in the ratings, as the team finished with 101 losses – the first time in five years the team crossed the 100 losses threshold as the team’s NBC Sports Chicago telecasts finished with a 0.99 rating, down 41 percent from last year. The White Sox were smothered in drama all year, but negative headlines doesn’t necessarily draw viewers (ask the Bears.) It’s been years since the White Sox achieved anything north of a 2 rating, finishing dead last in MLB local ratings in 2014, 2015, and 2018.
But unlike 2018’s disastrous season, the White Sox managed to avoid finishing in the ratings basement – that honor went to the Oakland A’s, who are expected to move to Las Vegas in the future. Games on NBC Sports California drew a 0.36 household rating, down 23 percent from last season. Interestingly enough, both White Sox and A’s home games this season – each usually sparsely attended – were peppered with “sell the team” chants as fans were disgruntled with their respective owners.
Trailing behind the White Sox were the Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels and Colorado Rockies (both 0.9) as the Denver team is preparing to find a new home since AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain is closing; the Washington Nationals (0.85); and the Miami Marlins (07.5), the only team in this bunch who made the playoffs.
As for other teams, the team who led the ratings race was the Philadelphia Phillies, whose NBC Sports Philadelphia telecasts drew a 5.49 rating followed by the St. Louis Cardinals with a 5.3, down 27 percent as the team finished in last place; and the Milwaukee Brewers’ 5.2 rating, up from last year.
The team scoring the highest increase was the Texas Rangers for Bally Sports telecasts in the Metroplex, up 99 percent from last year. But ratings remain low, at a 1.4.
As for the two teams who jettisoned Bally Sports, both the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks did respectively well as viewers had no trouble finding their games, taken over by MLB and spread out in a variety of places. The Diamondbacks scored a 1.3 rating, up 25 percent from last year and the Padres drew a strong 4.1 rating, down only 7 percent from last year.
National telecasts were mixed, but disappointing overall as traditional draws the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox all struggled at the box office due to poor records. The Cubs didn’t have many national telecasts this season (outside of regional telecasts on Fox) despite playing better than they had the previous year.
The entire ratings list (sorted by percentage gains/losses) is below.
