Jun 13, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers second base Gleyber Torres (25) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a lead off home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Comerica Park. Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers’ Fantastic Start Gives Franchise Huge Television Boost

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Detroit Tigers are one of the best teams in baseball and that usually means a television spotlight.

Before the season, the league’s network partners select particular games because there is a believe that those games will command national attention for various reasons. Others are picked up when a team gets off to a fantastic start.

The Tigers fell into the latter category earlier this week, as they had an upcoming game flexed by the worldwide leader in sports.

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Thanks to Detroit’s incredible start, ESPN picked up the Tigers’ June 29 game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park for its Sunday Night Baseball package. ESPN touted the game as a matchup between the two best teams in the American League Central Division.

ESPN made the formal announcement in a release. The game will feature ESPN’s top announcing crew of Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez, David Cone and Buster Olney. The game can be seen and heard on ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App.

This is the last season ESPN will have the main television network package for Major League Baseball.

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The Tigers received another piece of good news when it came to their local TV ratings on Friday.

Record-setting start to the season for Tigers viewership on @FanDuelSN_DET pic.twitter.com/jn3CuuQcul
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) June 13, 2025

Detroit’s terrific start to the season has resulted in an 82% jump in average household impressions on linear television broadcast through June 9, per a release. Year-over-year, it was the largest increase in Major League Baseball, excluding Toronto.

Local ratings for games on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit have an average rating of 4.46, which is second among MLB teams. The team’s household impressions are fifth in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies and the New Yor Yankees.

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From a streaming perspective, the Tigers are up 93% from last year at this time when it comes to unique streamers. The Tigers have already set several records for most streamers watching a single game across the FanDuel Sports Network in the network’s history, which includes MLB, NHL and NBA games.

The release also touted fan engagement during games. On May 30, when the Tigers faced the Kansas City Royals, the game featured the most minutes per stream in network history at 122 minutes.

Tigers fans aren’t just showing up at the ballpark. They’re showing up when games are on TV. And ESPN is finally starting to notice the incredible season going on in Motown.

For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.

This article first appeared on Detroit Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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