Though again down substantially from last year, the ratings-challenged National League Championship Series ended on with a series-high on TBS.
The Cardinals’ series-clinching Game 6 win over the Brewers earned a 3.6 U.S. rating and 5.938 million viewers on TBS Sunday night, down 50% in ratings and viewership from Game 6 of last year’s ALCS on TBS (NYY/TEX: 7.2, 11.863M), and down 33% and 34%, respectively, from Game 6 of the 2008 ALCS on TBS (BOS/TB: 5.4, 8.928M).
Last year’s game aired on a Friday night; the 2008 game aired on a Saturday night. There was no Game 6 of the 2009 NLCS on TBS.
Compared to Game 6 of last year’s NLCS on FOX (SF/PHI: 6.7, 11.639M), Sunday’s game was down 46% and 49%, respectively.
Despite the declines, Sunday’s clincher ranks as the most-viewed game of the series, and the third-most viewed NLCS telecast ever on cable (15 telecasts, three series).
Locally, Game 6 earned a 39.8 rating in St. Louis, up 38% from Friday’s Game 5 (28.9). In Milwaukee, the game drew a 25.4, up 19% from Game 5 (21.4).
Overall, the six-game Cardinals/Brewers NLCS averaged a 2.9 U.S. rating and 4.613 million viewers on TBS, down 43% in ratings and 44% in viewership from last year’s ALCS on TBS (TEX/NYY: 5.1, 8.223M), and down 24% in both categories from the 2009 NLCS on TBS (PHI/LAD: 3.8, 6.064M).
Keep in mind that Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS overlapped with coverage of the ALCS on FOX, and that Game 1 aired directly opposite the NFL national window.
This marks the lowest rated and least-viewed MLB League Championship Series since the four-game Rockies/Diamondbacks NLCS in 2007 (2.8, 4.294M).
By comparison, TNT averaged a 6.2 and 10.413 million viewers for coverage of the five-game Heat/Bulls NBA Eastern Conference Finals in May. Of course, that series featured the #3 market (Chicago) and arguably the highest-profile NBA team of the past decade (Miami).
The full series averaged a 31.2 in St. Louis, the highest local average for an LCS since 2007, when Boston averaged a 38.2 and Cleveland a 34.0 for the Red Sox/Indians ALCS. The series averaged a 24.7 in Milwaukee.
(This year’s numbers from Turner Sports)
