The Chicago Cubs were a ratings bonanza for Fox in this year’s World Series, so it’s no surprise that ESPN will depend quite heavily on the 2016 Champions for Sunday Night Baseball. In the early season Sunday Night Baseball schedule announced today, the Cubs appear five times including the season opener on Sunday, April 2 against traditional rival St. Louis. They’ll have two interleague games, one against the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, in consecutive weeks. They’ll also take on the Cardinals in both June and in July.
And don’t forget that SNB will also have plenty of appearances from the Yankees (four times), Mets (three times) and the Red Sox (twice). Here’s a look at the first 12 games that have been released by ESPN:
Opening Night & Sunday Night Baseball early-season schedule:
| Date | Time(ET) | Telecast | |
| Apr. 2 | 8:30 p.m. | MLB Opening Night: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Apr. 9 | 8 p.m. | Miami Marlins at New York Mets | |
| Apr. 16 | 8 p.m. | St. Louis Cardinals at New York Yankees | |
| Apr. 23 | 8 p.m. | Washington Nationals at New York Mets | |
| Apr. 30 | 8 p.m. | Chicago Cubs at Boston Red Sox | |
| May 7 | 8 p.m. | New York Yankees at Chicago Cubs | |
| May 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Houston Astros at New York Yankees | |
| May 21 | 8 p.m. | TBD | |
| May 28 | 8 p.m. | New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| June 4 | 7:30 p.m. | St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs | |
| June 11 | 8 p.m. | TBD | |
| June 18 | 8 p.m. | TBD | |
| June 25 | 8 p.m. | TBD | |
| July 2 | 8 p.m. | TBD | |
| July 9 | 8 p.m. | Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians | |
| July 16 | 8 p.m. | New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox | |
| July 23 | 8 p.m. | St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs | |
The other games in the first half of the season will be announced at a later date. But you can see how dependent ESPN is on the glamor teams. ESPN hopes the Cubs will provide the ratings spark for Sunday Night Baseball that they did for Fox during the World Series. We shall see when the season begins.
[ESPN]
