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NBC Sports delivered big ratings numbers during its first coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs in 26 years.
Tuesday’s Game 1 of the American League wild-card series between the rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox averaged 7.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. That prime-time audience was the biggest for Game 1 in a wild-card or division series on any network since 2006, Front Office Sports reported Friday.
Game 1 of the National League wild-card series between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday afternoon averaged 3.9 million viewers, a 15% spike from the comparable game in 2025 and the most-watched afternoon wild-card game ever, per FOS.
Numbers from NBC Sports’ coverage of this week’s other wild-card broadcasts are expected in the coming days.
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NBC Sports signed a three-year rights deal with MLB last year and broadcast its first playoff games since the 2000 American League Championship Series.
The AL Division Series and AL Championship Series will air on TBS, TruTV and HBO Max, with the NLDS and NLCS on Fox and FS1. Fox will host coverage of the World Series.
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This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 10:06 AM.