MLB Playoff TV Ratings Soar 41%, Fueled by Drama and Ohtani’s Debut

As any veteran of Major League Baseball postseason play knows, momentum is a powerful thing and can greatly impact game outcomes. That also applies to the league’s initial viewership of the 2024 playoffs, which has already been one of the most memorable in recent memory. 

Already enjoying the presence of the Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani in the playoffs for the first time, MLB, Fox, and TNT Sports collectively posted a 41% boost in viewership across the initial two days of the Division Series on Saturday and Sunday. 

Within that overall boost, Fox Sports averaged 3.64 million viewers for its first four National League Division Series games. That average is the highest such mark through the second day of play in this playoff round since the network’s FS1 channel began showing postseason baseball in 2014. 

TNT Sports, meanwhile, generated an average of 2.6 million viewers for its American League Division Series coverage Saturday, a pair of Game 1s that produced a 21% increase compared to the start of the round last year. Further data from Monday’s ALDS Game 2s is expected Wednesday. 

Notably, both Fox Sports and TNT Sports posted their viewership gains on Saturday competing against a stacked slate of college football, and then for Fox Sports on Sunday, the NFL. 

Kind of a Big Deal

The robust viewership figure arrived as MLB has four 1–1 ties for the first time in Division Series history. That round of postseason play debuted as a permanent entity in 1995 after a prior, one-off stint in 1981 due to that season being impacted by a labor dispute.

The across-the-board series ties guarantee the league will have at least 16 of 20 potential Division Series games this year. That figure contrasts significantly from last year when the Division Series had just 14 games and two sweeps among the four matchups. 

In any postseason series, drama and viewership typically rise the longer it goes, leaving MLB and its rights holders to generally root for as many games as possible.

“The fact that we’re here and we have a great opportunity to be back but playing meaningful games, playoff games here in October in front of our fan base, is exciting,” said Carlos Mendoza, manager for the Mets, who resume their Division Series against the Phillies on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s awesome. I can’t wait.”

The Division Series also follows a wild-card round that produced a 25% viewership increase from last year, and the best totals since that round of the postseason began in 2022.