In 2021, Major League Baseball returned to a full 162-game season with ten teams qualifying for the postseason. The postseason matchups provided fans with a several long-time rivalries in both leagues and a number of games that were not decided until the later innings. Heading into the World Series, these games helped to provide MLB with strong postseason ratings after a dismal ratings performance in the shortened 2020 season.
Wild Card: The wild card games began in 2012 when MLB decided the two teams with the best record that did not win their division would have a one-game play-in round. The winning team advances and the losing team goes home. In the American League the Boston Red Sox met the New York Yankees for the first time in the wild card round. Through the years the teams have played in many memorable postseason series and tie breaking games. The rivalry started in 1920 after the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees and is considered by many the best in baseball.
The play-in game aired on ESPN and ESPN2 and set a few audience records. The ESPN telecast averaged 7.11 million viewers, the alternative ESPN2 “Statcast” averaged 573,000 viewers. In addition, ESPN Deportes generated an additional average audience of 144,000 viewers. The 7.83 million viewers made the Red Sox-Yankees contest game the most watched American League wild card game to date. In addition, heading into the World Series it was the most watched postseason game of 2021. By comparison, the audience was higher than any of the four-game 2018 American League Division Series, which was the last time the Red Sox-Yankees had met in the postseason. That series (won by the Red Sox) aired on TBS the final game was the most watched averaging 7.15 million viewers.
ESPN also announced it was the most watched MLB game across ESPN platforms since 1998. It was also the most streamed MLB game ever on ESPN with 73.6 million minutes. Boston won the game 6-2 to advance to The American League divisional series.
The following night the National League wild card game also delivered a strong audience. While the two teams do not have the rivalry of the Red Sox-Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are familiar with October baseball. They met in the first MLB three-game tie-breaker series in 1946 (won by the Cardinals). The Dodgers won the World Series last year and have appeared in every postseason since 2013. The Cardinals have appeared in the postseason eight times since 2011. Previously, the two teams had met in a postseason series four times.
The wild card game on TBS averaged 6.7 million viewers. This was the second most watched wild card game on TBS behind the 8.3 million viewers to watch (Pittsburgh-Chicago) in 2015. The average audience was an increase of 41% from the 2019 NL wild card game (Washington-Milwaukee) on TBS. Turner also said the game set a streaming record for a wild card game. Helping to boost viewing was an exciting contest which ended with a walk-off home run by Chris Taylor of the Dodgers.
Divisional Series: The best of five divisional series involves the three division champions and the winner of the wild card game in both leagues. Of the four series, only one, San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers went the full distance. The Giants and Dodgers have had a rivalry that began in New York and continued when both clubs relocated to California after the 1957 season. This season the clubs were meeting in a postseason series for the first time. They had met previously in two three-game tie-breaking series, in 1951 and 1962 (both won by the Giants). Adding to the rivalry this year was their won-loss records. The Giants won 107 regular season games, the most of any club this year and breaking the franchise record set in 1904. The Dodgers won 106 games tied for the most wins in the 138-year history of the franchise.
The five-game NLDS series averaged 4.6 million viewers on TBS. The fifth and final game, won by the Dodgers, averaged 6.5 million viewers. With both teams originating from the West Coast the games did not start until 9 p.m. (ET). In addition, several games went head-to-head with prime-time NFL games. Nonetheless, of the 17 division series games, the five most watched were Giants-Dodgers.
The other NLDS matchup was not a storied rivalry between the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers (although the Braves once played in Milwaukee). The four-game series averaged 2.7 million viewers. The fourth and final game (won by the Braves) was the most watched averaging 3.1 million viewers.
Neither of the two ALDS played to an elimination game and neither could rely on a storied rivalry. The Boston Red Sox defeated division rival and defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays. (Although Tom Brady did leave New England for Tampa Bay in 2020.) The three of the four games aired on FS1 with the remaining game on the MLB Network. The series averaged 2.7 million viewers, with the deciding fourth game (won by Boston) delivering the highest audience of 3.3 million.
The least watched of the four divisional series was the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox. The four- game series (won by Houston) averaged 1.8 million viewers. The games aired on FS1 and the MLB Network. Previously, the two teams had met in the 2005 World Series when Houston played in the National League (they moved to the American League in 2012).
Championship Series: The winners of the divisional series move on to the championship series with the winners advancing to the World Series. In a rematch of last year, the Braves met the Dodgers in the NLCS, with the games airing on TBS. The six-game series averaged 5.2 million viewers making it the most watched LCS since 2018. The Braves won the NLCS in six games, with the final game averaging 6.9 million viewers.
The Astros played in their fifth consecutive ALCS and eliminated the Red Sox in six games (both teams had met in the 2018 ALCS) with the contests airing on Fox/FS1. The six-game series averaged 4.7 million viewers. Game 1 was the most watched averaging 6.14 million viewers on Fox with Game 3 the lowest at 3.5 million viewers.
World Series: The Braves are making their first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1999 (the last year Fox did not televise the Series). The Astros will be playing in their third World Series in the past five years. The 2020 World Series played in the aftermath on a shortened regular season and an expanded postseason averaged 9.8 million viewers, making it the least watched Fall Classic ever. Based on a strong postseason so far, World Series ratings should improve, but don’t expect any blockbuster audiences. The audiences for event programming have been lackluster this year and with the Braves and Astros meeting in their first World Series there is no historic rivalry which has boosted the ratings of several postseason series. According to Axios Houston and Atlanta has never met in a championship game/series in any sport. (Although the clubs did meet in the postseason five times from 1997 to 2005 when Houston played in the National League.)
The best World Series rivalry is the Dodgers and Yankees. The teams play in the two largest TV markets, have a strong national following, according to Forbes they are listed as the two most valued MLB franchises with the Yankees worth $5.25 billion and the Dodgers $3.57 billion. The Dodgers-Yankees have met in a record 11 World Series and have as postseason ratings indicate have always been popular with viewers.
The teams met in the 1978 World Series and averaged a record 44.3 million viewers. The two teams last met in October forty years ago and, not coincidentally, it was the last Fall Classic to average over 40 million viewers. Of course, in today’s landscape that audience is unattainable, but a Dodgers-Yankees World Series is now long overdue and would give MLB (and Fox) their strongest ratings in years.
Alas, as Brooklyn Dodger fans often lamented after losing to the Yankees in the World Series in the late 1940s and early 1950s, “wait till next year.”
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October 27, 2021 at 03:25AM
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Baseball Rivalries Proved Popular With Viewers This Postseason - Forbes
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