TORONTO – Fan interest in MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays has exploded since a series of player trades helped vault the team into the playoff race, according to data from IPG Mediabrands.
The marketing and advertising entity says that the Blue Jays were getting an average of 4,246 Tweets per game day prior to the trades, which has jumped 270% in the post trade period to an average of 15,712 Tweets per game day. The peak in Tweets happened on July 30, when the trade for pitcher David Price was announced, with 34,381 Tweets in a single day.
The bandwagon jumping has also extended to TV viewers, continues the research, with viewership hitting a record breaking high for the series opener against the New York Yankees on Friday, August 14. Sportsnet said the game was the most-watched program in its history, with an average audience of 2.03 million viewers (2+) tuning into the broadcast. Average game AMA (average minute audience) for total Canada has increased by 79% from 444,066 pre-trade to 792,900 post trade, and the percentage of viewers from Ontario has grown from 47% to 53%.
In addition, average game attendance before the Troy Tulowitzki and David Price trades was 27,841 and has since increased by 39% to 38,771.
IPG Mediabrands was founded by Interpublic Group in 2007 to manage its global media-related assets. In Canada, IPG Mediabrands is represented by UM, Initiative, m2, Reprise, Orion and Cadreon.
