Despite featuring only one home market — 33rd-ranked Kansas City — the ALCS got off to a more than respectable start in the ratings.
Game 1 of the Blue Jays/Royals American League Championship Series earned a 4.0 rating and 6.5 million viewers on FOX Friday night, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — up 29% in ratings and 30% in viewership from Giants/Cardinals last year (3.1, 5.0M) and down 5% and 4%, respectively, from Tigers/Red Sox in 2013 (4.2, 6.8M), both of which aired on a Saturday night.
Compared to Game 1 of last year’s Royals/Orioles ALCS on TBS, ratings and viewership increased 11% and 10%, respectively, from a 3.6 and 5.9 million.
The Royals’ win, which peaked with 7.9 million viewers from 10-10:15 PM ET, drew a higher rating and viewership than every game of last year’s LCS (nine telecasts). It scored the fourth-largest audience of this year’s postseason, trailing only Mets/Dodgers Game 5 in the Division Series (7.4M) and the Astros/Yankees (7.6M) and Cubs/Pirates (8.3M) Wild Card games. Keep in mind Kansas City is the nation’s #33 ranked television market and Toronto does not count toward U.S. TV ratings.
With that said, ratings and viewership were the third-lowest for an LCS opener on FOX since at least 2001 (19 telecasts) — ahead of only last year and Tigers/Rangers in 2011 (3.5, 5.8M).
Kansas City was the top market with a 41.3 rating, up 30% from Royals/Orioles last year (31.7) and the market’s highest Royals rating on record outside of the World Series. St. Louis (8.1), Hartford (6.3), Boston (5.8) and Ft. Myers (5.6) rounded out the top five.
(Fri. numbers from Fox Sports)
