NBC Sports drew its largest MLB postseason audiences in years with its first playoff telecasts since 2000, averaging 7.3 million viewers for Tuesday night’s Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees American League Wild Card Series Game 1 and 3.9 million for the Philadelphia Phillies-Atlanta Braves National League Wild Card Series Game 1, both on NBC and Peacock.
The Red Sox-Yankees game, which ran from 8 to 11:20 p.m. ET and was presented by AbbVie, was the most-watched Game 1 of an MLB Wild Card Series or Division Series since the 2006 Tigers-Yankees ALDS (8.4 million on FOX). It rose 12% from last year’s Red Sox-Yankees Wild Card Series Game 1 (6.5 million on ESPN on Sept. 30, 2025) and peaked at 8.5 million viewers from 9 to 9:15 p.m. ET.
The Phillies-Braves game, which aired from 2 to 4:59 p.m. ET and was also presented by AbbVie, was the most-watched afternoon MLB Wild Card Game 1 since the series began in 2020. It increased 15% from last year’s San Diego Padres-Chicago Cubs afternoon Wild Card Series Game 1 (3.4 million on ABC on Sept. 30, 2025) and peaked at 5.0 million viewers from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m. ET.