Exploring the Mystery of Daytime Playoff Games
For baseball enthusiasts with a nostalgic yearning for yesteryears of Major League Baseball, daytime playoff games evoke sentimentality. However, for fans residing on the West Coast, the early playoff timings pose a challenge. The first playoff game on Tuesday, between the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros, is slated for 11:30 a.m. — a considerable inconvenience for West Coast fans.
While Houston fans catch the action at 1:30 p.m. local time, many may be preoccupied with work or school commitments. So, the question arises — why not schedule the games later to ensure maximum viewership?
“Believe me, this is a debate that I’ve been on every side of over the years,” shared Noah Garden, MLB’s deputy commissioner for business and media responsible for television decisions. “But the numbers speak for themselves. At the end of the day, we have to heed the empirical evidence.”
Executives at MLB’s postseason broadcast partners, including ESPN and Fox, emphasize the primary goal of maximizing viewership. They have found that minimizing overlap in game timings is pivotal to achieving this objective.
A TV camera at Camden Yards. (Jerry Driendl / Getty Images)
Bill Wanger, executive vice president at Fox Sports and head of programming and scheduling, describes the process as a fine balance of art and science. Discussions regarding game timings commence well in advance to complement the strongest companion programming available.
