Yankees’ clincher draws highest non-Game 7 LCS rating in 5 years

The ALCS concluded with a bang on FOX.

Angels/Yankees Game 6 drew a 9.3/15 rating and 15.5 million viewers on FOX Sunday night, up 72% and 73%, respectively, from a 5.4/10 and 8.9 million for Red Sox/Rays Game 6 on TBS last year, which aired on a Saturday night.

Last year’s NLCS on FOX did not go to a sixth game. Compared to Game 6 of ’07 ALCS on FOX, Sunday night’s game was up 37% and 39%, respectively, from a 6.8 and 11.2 million for Indians/Red Sox.

Excluding Game 7s, Angels/Yankees Game 6 ranks as the highest rated, most-viewed League Championship Series game since Red Sox/Yankees Game 6 in ’04 (15.6/25, 25.0 mil).

Angels/Yankees Game 6 ranks as the most-viewed non-NFL sporting event since Game 4 of the NBA Finals in June (16.0 mil).

In addition to the 26.4/40 the game drew in New York, the Yankees’ series-clinching victory drew a 15.5/27 in Los Angeles — and a whopping 20.6/31 in Philadelphia.

Overall, the 2009 ALCS averaged a 6.5/12 rating and 10.3 million viewers on FOX, up 41% in ratings and 39% in viewers from last year’s ALCS on TBS (4.6, 7.4 mil), and up 35% and 39%, respectively, from last year’s NLCS on FOX (4.8, 7.4 mil).

Despite the strong ratings, the Yankees/Angels ALCS was down 12% and 10%, respectively, from the 7-game Indians/Red Sox ALCS in ’07 (7.4, 11.5 mil), and ranks as the 8th-least viewed LCS on record.

For comparison’s sake, the 2004 Red Sox/Yankees ALCS — the last to feature the Yankees — averaged an 11.7/20 rating, and the 2003 Yankees/Red Sox ALCS averaged a 10.7/20.

Most-viewed sporting events of 2009
excluding the NFL

Source: Fang’s Bites, pifeedback.com