The numbers kept climbing for the Cleveland Indians/New York Yankees series, though they could not come close to Cowboys/Bills. After Game 3 became the most watched MLB playoff game in cable history, with 8.5 million viewers, Game 4 set a new record on Monday night.
The Indians’ series clinching win at Yankee stadium drew a 7.0 cable rating and attracted 9.2 million viewers, the most ever for a Major League Baseball playoff game on cable. The 9.2 million viewers for Game 4 and the 8.5 million viewers for Game 3 are more than any Division Series game drew last season on ESPN or FOX. Moreover, the 9.2 million viewers for Game 4 is even with the average viewership of the 2007 NBA Finals, and is in the same range as the final rounds of both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship — both of which featured Tiger Woods in the final pairing.
Thanks to Major League Baseball Division Series coverage, TBS had the best week in the history of the network — including its two highest rated nights ever. Coverage of the Division Series averaged a 3.8 final national rating with 5.7 million viewers. By comparison, coverage of the 2007 NBA Playoffs on TNT averaged 3.3 million viewers (though for significantly more games), with 5 million for the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite the big rating, Indians/Yankees was eclipsed by Monday Night Football. ESPN’s presentation of Cowboys/Bills drew a 10.0 cable rating with 13 million viewers, the highest rated Monday Night Football game this season, and second-most viewed event on cable this year. The 10.0 cable rating was 43% higher than the reported 7.0 for Indians/Yankees, and the 13 million viewers surpassed the 9.2 for Indians/Yankees by 41%.
The game drew a 42.7 rating in Buffalo, and averaged a 67 share in Dallas-Fort Worth during the fifteen minute period from 11:45 PM to midnight.
