In its return to playoff baseball, ESPN attracted the largest audience yet for an MLB Wild Card Game.
Wednesday’s Giants/Pirates National League Wild Card game drew a 3.6 final rating and 5.6 million viewers on ESPN, up 16% in ratings and 18% in viewership from Rays/Indians on TBS last year (3.1, 4.7M) and the highest rated, most-watched Wild Card game ever (six telecasts dating back to 2012). The previous highs were a 3.4 and 5.3 million for Orioles/Rangers in 2012.
Last year’s Reds/Pirates N.L. Wild Card game aired on a Tuesday, earning a 3.0 and 4.6 million on TBS.
The Giants’ 8-0 rout earned the second-highest rating and viewership for any MLB one-game playoff since the turn of the century (ten telecasts), trailing only the 2009 Tigers/Twins AL Central tiebreaker on TBS (4.2, 6.5M). Tuesday’s 12-inning thriller between the Royals and Athletics drew a 3.3 and 5.2 million viewers by comparison.
While there are several reasons why a blowout would earn such strong numbers, one possibility is that viewers are simply accustomed to watching baseball on ESPN. The network just finished its 25th season of coverage and its Sunday Night Baseball franchise has become the de facto Game of the Week. TBS, by comparison, only began airing national games eight years ago and has virtually no presence outside of the playoffs.
Locally, Giants/Pirates drew a 22.6 rating in Pittsburgh and a 13.3 in San Francisco — both the highest ever for MLB on ESPN in the respective markets.
Ratings/Viewership For MLB One-Game Playoffs Since 2000
| # | Date | Game | Net | Rtg. | Vwrs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tue., 10/6/09 | Tigers/Twins | TBS | 4.2 | 6.54M |
| 2 | Wed., 10/1/14 | Giants/Pirates | ESPN | 3.6 | 5.59M |
| 3 | Fri., 10/5/12 | Orioles/Rangers | TBS | 3.4 | 5.30M |
| 4 | Tue., 9/30/14 | Athletics/Royals | TBS | 3.3 | 5.23M |
| 5 | Wed., 10/2/13 | Rays/Indians | TBS | 3.1 | 4.74M |
| 6 | Tue., 10/1/13 | Reds/Pirates | TBS | 3.0 | 4.60M |
| 7 | Tue., 9/30/08 | White Sox/Twins | TBS | 2.7 | 4.16M |
| 8 | Fri., 10/5/12 | Cardinals/Braves | TBS | 2.6 | 3.99M |
| 9 | Tue., 10/2/07 | Padres/Rockies | TBS | 2.5 | 3.95M |
| 10 | Mon., 9/30/13 | Rangers/Rays | TBS | 2.0 | 2.94M |
(Wed. numbers from ESPN Media Zone)
