Take a glance at ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball schedule released in January. Less than half the league was slated to play. Only 13 teams. Notably absent? The preseason favorites to win the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers.
Since then, the Tigers have been flexed into Sunday Night Baseball twice. The first was on June 29th against the Minnesota Twins, which averaged 2 million viewers. The second, August 3, the Tigers faced the Phillies, again drawing more than 2 million viewers.
The Tigers finished the season on a 31-13 heater, clinching a playoff spot despite a 0.2% chance to make it at the All-Star break. They have arguably the greatest pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal, wearing the Old English D. One would think the major networks would want them on their airwaves at least once?
The Tigers have also garnered the largest increase in average household impressions across the entire MLB, up 82% from last season. Additionally, the FanDuel Sports Network recorded 122 minutes of average watch time per streamer during the Tigers matchup with the Kansas City Royals on May 30. That’s the most ever in FDSN history.
It’s not just baseball. The Pistons, who made an excellent late run to clinch a playoff spot, were never given a primetime slot on TNT this season. The only Pistons primetime game for the entirety of the 24-25 NBA season was a single February home game on ESPN. Otherwise, they only appeared on a few NBATV streams, which costs $90 per season.
Oddly enough, the only Detroit team that didn’t make the playoffs, the Red Wings, had the most primetime games of any Detroit sports team. Out of the 62 total NHL on TNT games, the Wings played in seven of them.
With the re-signing of future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Patrick Kane, and the multiple long-term extensions Steve Yzerman signed in the prior offseason, clearly the networks expected more firepower from last year’s disappointing Wings team.
But even including the Red Wings, Detroit teams are consistently overlooked by the major sports networks. The networks inexplicably favor cities like San Diego, despite their declining TV ratings. The Padres, the city’s only major sports team, haven’t even made it past the NLDS since 1998.
It’s time the major networks show Detroit sports more respect. The teams’ performances and increased viewership have earned it.
Alex Deimel is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer.
