Thanks in part to the low bar set last year, overnights fell only slightly for the Blue Jays’ knockout of the Rangers.
Game 3 of the Rangers/Blue Jays American League Division Series had a 1.6 overnight rating on TBS Sunday night, down a tick from the same matchup on Fox Sports 1 last year (1.7) but down 43% from Angels/Royals on TBS in 2014 (2.8).
The Blue Jays’ walk-off series-clinching win, which peaked at a 2.5 from 10:45-11 PM ET, faced both the second presidential debate (37.2) and Sunday Night Football on NBC (10.2). The game had a mere 1.1 rating during the debate, per Sports Business Daily.
On Friday, Game 2 of the series had 1.6 million viewers — up 2% from the same matchup on MLB Network last year (1.6M) but down 29% from Tigers/Orioles on TBS in 2014 (2.3M). Final ratings were not immediately available. As is always the case for Blue Jays games, figures do not include Canadian viewership, which does not count toward U.S. television ratings.
As one would expect, Red Sox/Indians has been a much stronger draw. Game 2 of that series had 2.9 million viewers Friday afternoon, up 58% from Astros/Royals Game 2 last year (1.8M) and up 43% from Giants/Nationals Game 1 in 2014 (2.0M), both of which aired on FS1.
The big increases in viewership came despite direct head-to-head competition with Dodgers/Nationals Game 1 on FS1 (2.2M).
Through Saturday, the most recent day for which final figures are available, six of seven Division Series windows have increased over last year. That marks a reversal from the Wild Card round, which had double-digit declines for both games.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily 10/10, Sports TV Ratings 10/10)
