Average Audience of 7,126,000 Viewers Across ESPN and ESPN2, Peaking with 8,685,000 Viewers

Most-watched MLB Draft First Round Ever

Last night’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby on ESPN and ESPN2 was the most-watched since 2017, according to Nielsen. The event generated an average audience of 7,126,000 viewers, including 6,358,000 viewers on ESPN and 767,000 viewers on ESPN2 for the Statcast-focused alternate presentation.

The telecast peaked with 8,685,000 viewers from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET during the swing-off between Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

Viewership for the T-Mobile Home Run Derby was up 13 percent from 2019 and up 19 percent from 2018. The ESPN2 Statcast-focused alternate presentation made its debut in 2018. There was no MLB All-Star event in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here are the top five local market ratings for the 2021 T-Mobile Home Run Derby:

Market Rating
1)Kansas City 8.2
2)Denver 7.8
3)Cincinnati 7.6
4)San Diego 7.5
5)Hartford 6.6

Most-watched MLB Draft first round ever

The first round of the 2021 MLB Draft was the most-watched ever. ESPN’s coverage of the first round generated an average audience of 781,000 viewers, up 77 percent from 2020 – the first year the event aired on ESPN. In total, the MLB Draft drew 1,030,000 viewers across ESPN and MLB Network.