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The Boston Red Sox dugout burst onto the pitch after winning 6-2 over the New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox host the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Cards playoff game at Fenway Park in Boston on October 5, 2021.
Barry Chin | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox kicked off the 2021 playoffs on Tuesday with the most-watched baseball game on Disney’s ESPN networks since the day Mark McGwire hit his record 61st home run of the 1998 season .
The American League Wild Card game pitted AL East’s longtime rivals against each other in an elimination context. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-2 to advance to the AL Division series to face the Tampa Bay Rays. The best of five sets first game begins on Thursday.
An average of 7.7 million viewers on ESPN platforms watched Tuesday night’s contest, and the network said viewership peaked at 8.4 million between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET.
That’s the most since Sept. 7, 1998, when the McGwire St. Louis Cardinals faced Sammy Sosa’s Chicago Cubs in a season-ending game. While neither team made it to the playoffs, all eyes were on the series, as McGwire and Sosa were both set to surpass Roger Maris’ record of 61 homers in a single season in 1961.
McGwire hit his 61st that night in front of an ESPN audience of 10.6 million. He finished the season with 70 homers, followed by Sosa at 66.
ESPN said the Boston area scored 19.8 for households for Tuesday’s contest. That means nearly 20% of all TVs in this market, which has 2.3 million households, were tuned to the game. Among Boston viewers, it was the most-watched Red Sox game on ESPN. since 2009.
The New York market recorded a rating of 11.2 households. ESPN used Nielsen metrics to gauge audience.
Advertising data firm EDO estimated search engagement for Tuesday’s Wild Card to be 55% higher than the average 2021 MLB regular season game featuring one of the clubs. Viewers were 55% more likely to search for a brand online within minutes of their ad showing during the game. Nissan and Verizon were among the most sought after brands, EDO said.
Audience for the Yankees-Red Sox game has increased by 67% compared to the 2019 AL Wild Card game between the Rays and Oakland Athletics. This contest attracted 4.6 million viewers.
Anthony Rizzo No.48 of the New York Yankees reacts after defeating the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning of the American League Wild Card Game at Fenway Park on October 5, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Winslow Townson | Getty Images
For Wild Card games on all networks, the 2015 National League contest between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates continues to have the largest audience, with 8.3 million viewers connected to WarnerMedia’s TBS network.
Tuesday night’s game is second, followed by the 2015 AL Wild Card on ESPN, which drew 7.6 million viewers to watch the Houston Astros play against the Yankees. The 2016 NL Wild Card game, pitting the New York Mets against the San Francisco Giants, is fourth at 7.4 million.
MLB could be in for another big hit on Wednesday as the Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers face off in the NL Wild Card game. This game is on TBS, with audience information likely to be available Thursday.
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