Like the other games in the series, Game 5 of the NLCS did well for Fox Sports 1 despite a massive decline.
Game 5 of the Cardinals/Giants National League Championship Series drew a 3.1 final rating and 4.9 million viewers on FS1 Thursday night, down 43% in ratings and viewership from Red Sox/Tigers on FOX last year (5.4, 8.6M) and down 30% and 31%, respectively, from Giants/Cardinals on FOX in 2012 (4.4, 7.1M).
The Giants’ walk-off win ranks as the second-most watched program ever on FS1 or predecessor Speed Channel, trailing only Game 4 the previous night (5.0M). The three most-watched programs in network history were NLCS games.
Despite the near-record audience, Game 5 continued the overall trend of declines for the playoffs on FS1. All-but-one of the network’s games had a double-digit decline from last year’s comparable action on TBS and FOX, both of which are in more television homes.
Including Game 1 of the FOX broadcast network, all five games of the NLCS declined double-digits from both last year and 2012.
(Thu. numbers from Fox Sports)
