Are you sure that nobody cares about the Red Sox?
We’ve been reporting on the drip-drop of favorable ratings news all season long, including the nugget about Red Sox viewership being up substantially among the all-important 25-54 year-old demo. Now, we have some hard numbers to support those anecdotes.
Red Sox ratings on NESN experienced growth across all demos this season, the network announced Thursday. But there’s one nugget that stands out above all the others: the team drew its best rating among adults 18-34 since 2011.
The number was 1.62, which probably speaks more to the viewing habits of young people more than anything else. Still, even if the era of cord-cutting, the Red Sox were able to attract more young people than at any point over the last 10 years — including two World Series runs.
The figures also show there was substantial interest in the Red Sox’ playoff push, despite their Covid outbreak and maddening losses. Sunday’s clinching game against the Nationals garnered a 7.44 household rating, which was the highest of the season. The second highest was Saturday’s affair. It drew a 7.27.
Tuesday’s Wild Card game against the Yankees delivered a 19.8 rating in Boston, making it the most-watched Red Sox game on ESPN platforms since 2009. The crowd at Fenway was roaring, and people were watching.
The Red Sox are never going to recapture the popularity they enjoyed in the early to mid-aughts. But that’s OK. The franchise is still in a strong place.
Attendance is the blemish on this season, as the Red Sox finished 11th in the league. But attitudes around Covid might factor into that number. The Giants, who won 107 games, finished 12th in attendance. The woeful Rangers, meanwhile, were No. 5.
But Tuesday’s game was a sellout, and like the rest of the season, the crowd seemed younger and rowdier. The kids are heading to Fenway to party, and if they can’t do that, they’re watching on TV — at least in the largest numbers this decade.
