In as rare an occasion as any, Major League Baseball trounced the National Football League head-to-head.
Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on FOX nearly doubled the rating for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Game 7, which featured the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, averaged a 13.5/21 overnight on Sunday, the highest overnight for a Major League Baseball game in two years. The 13.5/21 marks a 9% increase from the 12.4 overnight for Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS between the Cardinals and Mets, which aired on a Thursday night.
The ALCS beat Sunday Night Football by 44%. SNF, featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, averaged a 9.4 overnight on NBC, the second-lowest overnight of the season.
Indians/Red Sox averaged 18.1 million viewers, down 1% from the 18.2 million viewers for the game on the comparable night last year, Game 2 of the 2006 World Series. The 18.1 million viewers helped FOX win the night easily in that category, ahead of ABC and third-place NBC — which drew 11.8 million viewers for Steelers/Broncos.
Game 6 of the ALCS on Saturday night averaged a 7.5 overnight rating, down 13% from the game on the comparable night last year, Game 1 of the World Series. Compared to Game 6 of the ’06 NLCS, the 7.5 marked an 18% decline; keep in mind that Game 6 of the ’06 NLCS aired on a Wednesday night.
