The ALCS got off to a solid start on TBS, but the numbers were still on the lower end of recent LCS openers.
Saturday’s Astros-Red Sox American League Championship Series Game 1 earned 5.82 million viewers on TBS, per Nielsen fast-nationals — down 5% from Yankees-Astros on FS1 last year (6.16M) but up 41% from Blue Jays-Indians on TBS in 2016 (4.12M). Those games aired on Friday nights. Ratings were not immediately available.
Compared to last year’s Dodgers-Cubs NLCS opener on TBS, which aired in the same Saturday night window, viewership fell 8% from 6.33 million.
The Astros’ win, which peaked with 6.9 million viewers from 11-11:15 PM ET, tops only 2016 as the least-watched ALCS opener since 2011 (Tigers-Rangers: 5.77M). Keep in mind it was the first ALCS opener on a Saturday night — the least-watched night of the week — since 2013.
Including National League games, Game 1 ranks tenth out of the last 13 LCS openers.* Blue Jays-Indians in ’16, Giants-Cardinals in 2014 (5.01M) and Dodgers-Cardinals in 2013 (5.45M) rank lower.
Figures for Games 1 and 2 of the Dodgers-Brewers NLCS were not immediately available.
Houston led all markets with a 20.0 rating, up 45% from last year’s ALCS Game 1 (13.8) and a TBS record in the market. Boston turned in a 19.8, the market’s highest postseason rating on TBS since 2013.
* Excludes Friday’s Dodgers-Brewers Game 1 on FS1, numbers for which were not immediately available.
[Numbers from Deadline 10.14]
