There was not much tension during MLB’s Wild Card round of the Postseason, and viewership for the eight games slipped across ESPN’s networks.
The eight-game slate, which saw each series end in a two-game sweep, averaged 2.25 million viewers over ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. That’s down from last year’s nine-game round, which averaged 2.798 million viewers.
Last year, the Wild Card round took place on Friday and Saturday, with a win-or-go-home game between the Mets and Padres airing on Sunday night. Despite going head-to-head with Sunday Night Football on NBC, that final game averaged a round-high 3.961 million viewers.
There was no single series that dragged the average down, with all failing to deliver strong viewership. Each game increased from Game 1 to Game 2.
- Phillies vs Marlins (ESPN): 3.12 million (Game 1: 2.99 million; Game 2: 3.24 million)
- Rays vs Rangers (ABC): 2.20 million (Game 1: 2.18 million; Game 2: 2.22 million)
- Brewers vs Diamondbacks (ESPN2): 1.91 million (Game 1: 1.86 million; Game 2: 1.95 million)
- Twins vs Blue Jays (ESPN): 1.86 million (Game 1: 1.68 million; Game 2: 2.03 million)
I don’t think this is some sort of damning indictment of MLB, the Wild Card round, or ESPN’s production, but rather the result of four straight sweeps and some less-than-stellar national draws. Swapping out the Mets, Padres, and Cardinals in the National League for the Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Brewers is a net loss for viewership, and the two NL matchups were significantly down from last year. Mets-Padres, which went to three games, averaged 3.683 million viewers and Phillies-Cardinals averaged 2.820 million viewers. Getting a third game in at least one series wouldn’t have dragged the average up to last year’s mark, but it at least would have made the comparison a bit closer.
Viewership data for the MLB Division Series round, which began with four games on Saturday, is not yet available. In 2022, viewership for the Division Series hit a multi-year high for MLB, averaging 3.446 million viewers across the 13 games in the round.
[Data via Sports Media Watch]
