After each Wild Card series ended in a sweep last season, MLB is off to a strong start in the ratings this year.
Day one of the 2024 MLB Wild Card Series resulted in some strong viewership for ESPN. Its marquee game between the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros on ABC averaged 3.19 million viewers on Tuesday, a 44% increase from Game 1 of the Texas Rangers-Tampa Bay Rays series last season which averaged 2.18 million viewers. Per ESPN PR, Tigers-Astros was the most-watched Wild Card Series game ever on ABC, though the network has aired just four Wild Card Series games ever as of Tuesday, one game in 2022 when the best-of-three format became permanent, and two games in 2023.
Viewership for all four games averaged 2.5 million, a 15% increase over the first day of last year’s Wild Card Series games which clocked in at 2.18 million viewers.
Notably, the two evening games on ESPN, Mets-Brewers, and Braves-Padres, averaged 2.75 million viewers, up 17% from the comparable Marlins-Phillies and Blue Jays-Twins games last season, despite airing directly against the Vice Presidential debate. At 5:30 p.m. ET, when three games were playing simultaneously across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, the combined viewership reached 6.71 million.
No doubt, MLB has to be pleased with the viewership increases. However, what the league would really want is some more Game 3s. Out of the eight completed Wild Card Series in 2022 and 2023, just one has gone to a Game 3, Padres-Mets in 2022. That game drew 3.96 million viewers despite airing opposite of NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Given the strong viewership so far this postseason, some winner-take-all rubber matches could potentially pop for ESPN and MLB.
[ESPN]
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.