TBS’s Exclusive Coverage of Dodgers / Cardinals Delivers Second Most-Watched MLB Wild Card Telecast in Network’s History
2021 NL Wild Card on TBS Averages 6.7 Million Total Viewers – Up 41% from 2019 NL Wild Card Game – Winning the Night Across Cable
MLB on TBS Registers Largest Streaming Audience; Bleacher Report’s Social Handles Produce Nearly Three Million Video Views
TBS's exclusive coverage of last night’s thrilling 2021 National League Wild Card presented by Hankook Tire – the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (8 p.m.-12:38 a.m. ET) – is the second most-watched Wild Card telecast in the network’s history, averaging 6.7 million viewers, a 41% increase over the 2019 NL Wild Card on TBS.
The live game telecast peaked with an average of 7.4 million total viewers from 10-10:15 p.m. ET and delivered significant audience growth across all platforms, including a record-setting streaming audience for MLB on TBS. The Dodgers’ dramatic walk-off victory led the network to win the night across all of cable television, based on metered market delivery. Cardinals/Dodgers was the No. 1 program of the night across all of TV for People 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
Additional highlights include:
Double-Digit Growth Across All Key Demos
Last night’s Cardinals vs. Dodgers telecast on TBS is up double digits across all key demos, including a 36% increase in People 18-34 over the network’s NL Wild Card telecast in 2019.
Turner Sports’ TVE Platforms Set Wild Card Record
Turner Sports’ TV Everywhere platforms generated a Wild Card record for streaming consumption on its digital platforms, including an increase of 469% in minutes streamed vs. 2019 NL Wild Card coverage.
Nearly Three Million Video Views for B/R Social
The 2021 NL Wild Card Game generated nearly three million video views on Bleacher Report and Bleacher Report Walk-Off social handles.
Strong Local Performance in Los Angeles and St. Louis
In St. Louis, last night’s game telecast on TBS generated a 23.0 HH rating, the best local performance for an MLB game telecast on any network in the market since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
The Dodgers/Cardinals telecast averaged a 12.3 HH rating in Los Angeles, the best rating for a Dodgers game on TBS since Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS. Last night’s game peaked at a 17.3 from 12:15-12:30 a.m. ET in the L.A. market.
TBS’s exclusive coverage of the 2021 National League Division Series presented by Good Sam will begin tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 8, with a pair of Game 1s – Braves at Brewers at 4:30 p.m. ET and Dodgers vs. Giants at 9:30 p.m. Pregame coverage will begin at 4 p.m.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Live + SD for 10/6/2021, compared historically to MLB Postseason telecasts on ad supported cable networks. Online TVE Live Stream Starts, Users by Quarter Hour (rounded based on actual game time) from Conviva.