After a 2023 postseason where there wasn’t much to write home about, Major League Baseball viewership has largely rebounded so far in 2024.
Led by a number of brand-name teams, Fox’s broadcasts of NLDS games have seen strong bumps compared to last season. Game 1 of the San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers series averaged 2.88 million viewers on FS1, up 39% from last year’s Game 1 between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers which averaged 2.07 million viewers. Game 2 saw another jump for FS1, averaging 3.44 million viewers on Sunday, up 26% versus Game 2 of the NLDS last season (2.74 million).
Across the country, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are earning even bigger numbers for Fox. Game 1 averaged 4.86 million viewers on Fox, up 27% over Game 1 between the Phillies and Atlanta Braves last season (3.84 million). Per Sports Media Watch, Game 1 was the second-most watched LDS opener since 2018, trailing only the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in 2022 which drew 5.57 million viewers. The Phillies’ walk-off win in Game 2 averaged 3.45 million viewers on FS1, peaking at 4.94 million viewers during the 7 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. quarter-hour.
After a thrilling start to the #NLDS presented by https://t.co/yqf1XDyDX2, @MLBONFOX viewership is on the rise!
Detailed breakdown 👇 pic.twitter.com/SUFk14Nsdv
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) October 8, 2024
Also notable for Fox is the increase in its Spanish-language viewership. Per the network, Fox Deportes set a Spanish-language NLDS record for Game 2 of Padres-Dodgers with 259,000 viewers.
.@FOXDeportes is off to a record MLB Postseason start!
✔️NLDS Games 1 and 2 averaged 160k for both series; the best start in Spanish-lang. history⁰
✔️The average is up +87% from 2023 and +28% from 2022⁰
✔️Padres-Dodgers Game 2 set an NLDS Spanish-lang. TV record with 259k… pic.twitter.com/spRN8aD9gh— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) October 8, 2024
Shifting to the ALDS games over on TBS and truTV, Game 1 of the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees averaged 3.23 million viewers. The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers have proven the least attractive of the LDS games so far, averaging just 1.92 million viewers on TBS and truTV.
Overall, viewership for the six weekend games were up 41% across both Fox and Turner networks, per Fox Sports executive Michael Mulvihill. This follows a strong start in the Wild Card round for the league, making for a strong viewership story so far this postseason.
