The Yankees’ lone game in the 2015 MLB Postseason was a ratings hit.
Tuesday’s Astros/Yankees American League Wild Card Game drew a 4.9 final rating and 7.6 million viewers on ESPN, up 48% in ratings and 46% in viewership from Athletics/Royals last year (3.3, 5.2M) and up 63% and 65%, respectively, from Reds/Pirates in 2013 (3.0, 4.6M), both of which aired on TBS.
Compared to last year’s Pirates/Giants N.L. Wild Card Game on ESPN, which took place on a Wednesday night, ratings and viewership both increased by 36% from a 3.6 and 5.6 million.
The Astros’ win ranks as the highest rated and most-watched MLB telecast on cable since Game 5 of the 2011 Cardinals/Phillies NLDS on TBS (5.1, 8.4M), and the top telecast on ESPN since the 2009 Home Run Derby (5.1, 8.3M). Excluding All-Star festivities, it earned ESPN’s highest MLB rating and viewership since Game 3 of the 2003 Braves/Cubs NLDS (5.4, 8.1M) — matching a 2005 Angels/Yankees playoff game in the former measure.
The game also ranks as baseball’s top one-game playoff in the past fifteen years, topping the previous highs of 4.2 and 6.5 million for the Tigers/Twins A.L. Central tiebreaker in 2009.
Compared to other sports, Astros/Yankees drew a higher rating than all-but-one college football game so far this year, trailing only Ohio State/Virginia Tech on Labor Day (6.0). It also topped all-but-two of last season’s NBA playoff games — not counting the NBA Finals — trailing only Games 4 and 5 of the Warriors/Rockets Western Conference Finals.
Tuesday’s game had a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, up 35% from last year on TBS (1.7).
(Tue. numbers from ESPN)
