MLB Poised for Huge Viewership Gains With Ohtani, Judge in Spotlight

Shohei Ohtani played a huge role in a Game 1 victory for the Dodgers during his much-awaited playoff debut Saturday. MLB and its broadcast partners are poised to be big winners as well.

The viewership numbers for Ohtani’s playoff debut are expected to be announced Tuesday, sources tell Front Office Sports, but there are already indications why MLB, following a wild-card round that saw a 25% increase in viewership versus last year, should be celebrating. 

For instance, the video of Ohtani’s first playoff home run passed one million views in less than 24 hours on MLB’s YouTube channel, putting it in the top 20 most-viewed videos on the account over the last 12 months. On X, the clip has nearly five million views, while no other post has more than 1.6 million views since the beginning of the playoffs.

The league is not shy about putting the spotlight on Ohtani, who went through his first six MLB seasons without sniffing the playoffs. MLB deputy commissioner Noah Garden admits to FOS that it’s “good and important” for fans to see the two-time AL MVP on the postseason stage.

“Certainly having Ohtani on this stage is great for the game, great for the fans, and he’s having such a historic season,” Garden says.

The Padres won Game 2 of the best-of-five series against Ohtani and the Dodgers Sunday night.

MLB’s Recipe for Success

MLB is optimistic about the prospect of improved playoff viewership results following an 8% decline during last year’s postseason, capped off by the least-watched World Series in history. 

But the Dodgers’ $700 million man isn’t the league’s only ingredient to a bounceback postseason.

Several big-market franchises are in contention to make deep playoff runs—including the Yankees, Mets, Phillies, and Dodgers. The Padres aren’t one of the league’s biggest markets, but the team has stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado—as well as a loyal fanbase, finishing fourth in attendance.

Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper, the two players behind Ohtani on MLB’s list of highest-jersey sales, are also viewership attractions. Garden specified the presence of the former, who was also absent from last year’s playoffs.

“Judge is having as good a monster season as well, and we’ve got a lot of our amazing, young players in there, too,” Garden says. “We’re going to be showcasing our best players, that’s for sure.”

Several permutations could keep the league’s top stars and markets out of Fall Classic—baseball is an unpredictable sport and last year’s Diamondbacks-Rangers World Series was certainly unexpected—but there’s no denying what MLB’s best-case scenario is: a Dodgers–Yankees, Ohtani–Judge final.