The 2011 Major League Baseball postseason got off to a slow start on Turner Sports Friday.
Game 1 of the Rays/Rangers American League Division Series earned a 1.9 U.S. rating and 2.866 million viewers on TBS Friday afternoon, down 30% in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year (CIN/PHI G1: 2.7, 4.309M), and down 56% and 57%, respectively, from 2009 (MIN/NYY G1: 4.3, 6.607M).
Last year’s Reds/Phillies Game 1 also aired at 5 PM ET; the 2009 Twins/Yankees Game 1 aired at 6 PM ET. Both games aired on Wednesday nights.
Of the 57 MLB Division Series games on TBS, the Rays’ win ranks as the eighth-least viewed.
Friday’s game did outdraw the opener of last year’s Rangers/Rays series, which drew a 1.6 and 2.244 million at 1:30 PM ET.
Locally, Game 1 drew a 12.1 rating in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market, up 26% from last year’s game between the same two teams (9.6). The game drew a 6.9 in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, up 17% from last year (5.9).
(This year’s numbers from Turner Sports; logos from sportslogos.net)
