The Wild Card game is in its third year of existence and first on ESPN. Well, the combination of a Wild Card game on ESPN led to a record rating and viewership. Despite an 8-0 blowout, the San Francisco-Pittsburgh Pirates game resulted in a 3.6 rating and a viewership of 5.591 million, the highest in both categories.
Last year’s NL Wild Card game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh on TBS resulted in a 3.4 rating and 5.4 million viewers.
Pittsburgh drew a 22.6 local rating while San Francisco averaged a 13.3. Those numbers are the highest in both markets for an MLB game on ESPN.
This is what ESPN is saying about the Wild Card ratings.
ESPN SCORES MOST-VIEWED AND HIGHEST-RATED MLB WILD CARD GAME EVER
Viewership up 22 Percent From Last Year’s NL Game; Record Numbers Also for WatchESPN
ESPN’s telecast of San Francisco at Pittsburgh Wednesday night was the most-watched and highest-rated MLB Wild Card Game across any network ever. ESPN’s inaugural MLB Wild Card Game, which featured the Giants defeating the Pirates 8-0, was seen by a record 5,591,000 viewers and delivered a record 3.6 rating, according to fast nationals from Nielsen. The figures represent a 22 percent increase in viewership and a 20 percent increase in ratings compared to the 2013 NL Wild Card Game, also involving the Pittsburgh Pirates (versus the Cincinnati Reds).
WatchESPN sets MLB record
The Giants-Pirates game was also the most-viewed MLB game ever on WatchESPN with more than 9.9 million total minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 48,589. Those figures are 126 percent higher for total minutes and 156 percent higher for average minute audience than the previous WatchESPN record.
Local records
The NL Wild Card Game set local market records in both Pittsburgh and San Francisco. In Pittsburgh, the telecast delivered a 22.6 rating, the highest for an MLB game ever on ESPN. In San Francisco, the game posted a 13.3, also ranking as the highest ever for an MLB game on ESPN.
That’s all.
