The NLCS is putting up mediocre numbers on TBS.
Dodgers/Phillies Game 4 drew a 3.4/6 U.S. rating and 5.6 million viewers on TBS Monday night, down 32% and 27%, respectively, from a 5.0/8 and 7.7 million for Game 4 between the same two teams on FOX last year.
Compared to past LCS on TBS, Game 4 was down 11% in ratings and 2% in viewership from Rays/Red Sox Game 4 last year (3.8, 5.7 mil), but up 36% and 48%, respectively, from Diamondbacks/Rockies Game 4 in ’07 (2.5, 3.8 mil).
Through four games, the NLCS is averaging a 3.4 U.S. rating and 5.5 million viewers on TBS, down 29% in ratings and 25% in viewers from a 4.8 and 7.3 million through four games of last year’s NLCS on FOX. Compared to last year’s ALCS on TBS, Phillies/Dodgers is down 8% and 5%, respectively, from the first four games of Rays/Red Sox (3.7, 5.7 mil).
While comfortably above the record-low ’07 Rockies/Diamondbacks NLCS (2.8, 4.3 mil), the Phillies/Dodgers series is not performing particularly well — and unless the series goes six or seven games, it should finish as the second-lowest rated League Championship Series in history.
Games 3 and 4 of the series currently rank as 2 of the 5 lowest rated primetime LCS telecasts ever. The 3.0 for Game 3 is the third-lowest rating ever for a primetime LCS game, ahead of two Rockies/Diamondbacks games that began at 10 PM ET.
The series is not even putting up strong numbers relative to the Division Series — only 1 game of the Phillies/Dodgers series (Game 1) ranks among the 5 highest rated games of the ’09 postseason on TBS.
To put the numbers in perspective, TBS sister network TNT averaged a 5.4 U.S. rating and 8.6 million viewers for the Magic/Cavaliers NBA Eastern Conference Finals in May. Magic/Cavaliers featured the #17 and #19 markets*, while Phillies/Dodgers features the #2 and #4 markets. The NLCS is also barely outperforming the 3.3 and 5.3 million viewers 6 NASCAR races drew on TNT in June and July.
Lowest rated primetime League Championship Series telecasts ever
| Date | Time | Game | Net | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., 10/12/07 | 10 PM | Rockies/D’Backs G2 | TBS |
2.2/6
|
| Mon., 10/15/07 | 10 PM | D’Backs/Rockies G4 | TBS |
2.5/6
|
| Sun., 10/18/09 | 8 PM | Dodgers/Phillies G3 | TBS |
3.0/5
|
| Sun., 10/14/07 | 8 PM | D’Backs/Rockies G3 | TBS |
3.2/5
|
| Mon., 10/19/09 | 8 PM | Dodgers/Phillies G4 | TBS |
3.4/6
|
* Cleveland has since dropped to the #18 market
Source: pifeedback.com
