Wednesday’s Rangers/Tigers Game 4 earned solid numbers on FOX, thanks in part to a rain delay that pushed the game from the afternoon to primetime.
The Rangers’ Game 4 win over the Tigers earned a 5.2 final rating and 8.370 million viewers on FOX Wednesday night, down 9% in ratings and 10% in viewership from Game 4 of last year’s NLCS on FOX (PHI/SF: 5.7, 9.274M), and down 22% and 19%, respectively, from Game 4 of the 2009 ALCS on FOX (NYY/LAA: 6.7, 10.303M).
Compared to Game 4 of last year’s ALCS on TBS (TEX/NYY: 6.3, 9.846M), this year’s matchup was down 18% and 15%, respectively.
The game was originally scheduled to air at 4 PM ET, but did not begin until shortly before 6:30 PM due to a rain delay. The comparable games both last year and in 2009 began in primetime.
Because of the rain delay, the game overlapped with Game 3 of the Cardinals/Brewers NLCS on TBS (2.8, 4.282M) for 2 1/2 hours.
Still, Game 4 earned the second-best numbers of the League Championship Series, trailing only Game 3 of the series on Tuesday night (5.3, 8.390M).
Game 4 earned a 32.8 rating in Detroit, up 12% from Game 3 (29.3). In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the game drew a 24.3, up 2% from Tuesday’s game (23.9).
Of note, Wednesday’s game preempted the FOX reality series The X Factor. The previous week, the show earned more viewers (11.930M to 8.370M) and had a higher adults 18-49 rating (4.1 to 2.5) than Game 4.
Through four games, the ALCS on FOX is averaging a 4.5 rating and 7.2 million viewers, down 4% in ratings and 7% in viewership from the first four games of last year’s NLCS on the network (SF/PHI: 4.7, 7.7M).
(This year’s numbers from Fox Sports Media Group press release via TV By the Numbers; additional information from TV By the Numbers)
