Baseball’s TV Ratings Rise as Stadium Attendance Drops : Television: ‘I think people are kind of showing their frustration’ in the wake of the strike by turning to the media to follow the teams, one official says.

If major league baseball’s sagging attendance is reflective of lingering resentment against players and owners in the wake of the 232-day strike that wiped out last year’s World Series and delayed the start of this season, television ratings for four of California’s five teams indicate that the game itself is still popular.

While attendance is down about 30% at Anaheim Stadium, ratings for Angels telecasts on KTLA-TV Channel 5 are about the same as they were through the same number of games last season.

Dodger attendance is down about 6%, but ratings for the team’s telecasts on Channel 5 have increased by about 8%.

In San Francisco, where attendance at Candlestick Park is down about 45% and the Giants this week announced a ticket-giveaway program, TV ratings for Giant telecasts are up slightly.

And in Oakland, where attendance is down about 25%, the A’s first telecast of the season drew a higher rating than any the team posted all last season.

“I think people are kind of showing their frustration by saying, ‘OK, we’re not going to go to the games, but we are going to follow them on the radio and the TV and read about them in the newspaper,’ ” said Ken Pries, director of broadcasting for the A’s. “And I think that’s reflected through these numbers.”

Among the state’s five major-league cities, TV ratings have dropped only in San Diego, where Padres attendance is down almost 30% and ratings are down 20%.

In Los Angeles, station manager John Riordan is encouraged by KTLA’s ratings for Dodgers and Angels telecasts.

“I’m surprised that we’re holding up as strong as we are,” he said. “So, we’re very pleased. And optimistic that it will continue.”

Nationally, fan disenchantment is reflected in the attendance numbers and the TV ratings.

Overall attendance in the major leagues is down about 20% and the ratings for telecasts on ESPN, which carries weekly Sunday night games and Wednesday night doubleheaders, are down about 30%. National ratings for TBS telecasts of Atlanta Braves games are down about 20%.

ESPN and TBS representatives said, however, that extenuating circumstances have affected their baseball ratings. After a three-week delay, the baseball season started on April 25, just as the NBA playoffs were about to begin. And the NBA playoffs have been wildly popular, with ratings on TNT and NBC up about 25% and 10%, respectively.

“Baseball was hurt because it didn’t have a chance to get a head start on the NBA,” said Mark Quenzel, director of programming for ESPN. “Usually, with spring training and the start of the season in early April, you’re well into the season before the [NBA] playoffs start. This year, they were within two days of each other.”

Of the ratings posted by California teams, Quenzel said: “A local audience clearly is going to fall off a lot less than a national audience. A national audience is comprised of a lot of neutral fans that don’t have a vested interest in either team.”

Quenzel, though, is optimistic that ESPN’s baseball ratings will improve through the summer.

“It’s hard to project all the way down to late August or early September, even in a normal season,” he said. “But I would expect as the pennant races heat up, you’re going to see some people come back.”