Why Is There Almost No Baseball On Nationally During MLB Opening Day?

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Technically, Major League Baseball's Opening Day came last week when the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres started the season with a pair of regular season games in South Korea. 

But for all intents and purposes, the true Opening Day occurs on Thursday when the majority of the rest of the league gets their seasons underway. 

I remember when I was a kid, one of my favorite pastimes was my dad taking me out of school on Opening Day to watch the Cincinnati Reds. Only recently did Major League Baseball steal Opening Day from Cincinnati. In case you weren't aware, as the league's oldest franchise, the Reds always played the first game of the season. 

Opening Day in Cincinnati is basically a local holiday to celebrate the Reds.

Opening Day in Cincinnati is basically a local holiday to celebrate the Reds.

(Liz Dufour/The Enquirer/USA Today Network)

We'd watch that game, which usually started at either 12:30 or 1:00 and then just keep watching baseball all day. ESPN would air the Reds, then a game around 4:00, then a game around 7:00 and finish with a West Coast game at 10:00. 

It was glorious. But baseball is losing popularity in the United States and I confess to not being as into the league as I was growing up. However, I was excited to see baseball starting up again. I looked to see what time the games started and thought how awesome it was that there would be afternoon baseball to watch and write about. 

Then, I noticed something strange. Only one MLB game started before 4:00 E.T. and that was a matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles. And it wasn't on national TV. I understand that the Mets-Brewers game was postponed, which threw a bit of a wrench in the schedule. 

Opening Day in Major League Baseball used to dominate television, but in 2024 there's almost no MLB action airing nationally.

Opening Day in Major League Baseball used to dominate television, but in 2024 there's almost no MLB action airing nationally.

(Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports)

Still, how did Major League Baseball not have a backup plan? No game to watch nationally at 1 p.m. on Opening Day? In fact, there's only one game scheduled to air on Thursday's Opening Day and that's a 7:35 E.T. contest between the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. That's it. 

It's Opening Day in Major League Baseball, there are 13 games being played, and only one of them is nationally-televised. 

Baseball faces a litany of problems when it comes to generating new fans and keeping old ones. But I can confidently say that not having more national coverage on one of the biggest days of the calendar is a complete joke. 

It's like the MLB wants us not to watch. And, hey, if that's how they're going to be about it, then I won't. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.