After double-digit declines in the Wild Card round, ratings have yet to turn around in the Division Series.
The Major League Baseball Division Series was averaging 2.78 million viewers through Tuesday (10 games), down 15% from the same number of games last year (3.28M). The 15% decline actually constitutes an improvement as viewership was down nearly 30 percent through the first two days, which took place on a football weekend as opposed to midweek last year.
The Phillies-Braves series ranks as easily the most-watched thus far with a combined average of 4.05 million across TBS and truTV — up 19% from the first two games of last year’s NLDS between the same teams on FOX (3.41M). By comparison, Diamondbacks-Dodgers, Rangers-Orioles and Astros-Twins were averaging 2.39, 2.45 and 2.50 million respectively.
The series accounts for two of the three largest audiences so far this postseason and — including the Wild Card Series — Philadelphia has played in four of the top five. Monday’s thrilling Game 2 averaged a 2.2 rating and postseason-high 4.27 million viewers (TBS: 3.55M; truTV: 722K) and Saturday’s opener ranks third at a 1.8 and 3.84 million (TBS: 3.31M; truTV: 523K).
Sandwiched between, Tuesday’s Orioles-Rangers Game 3 averaged a 2.3 and 4.14 million on FOX (4.23M across all Fox platforms) — the most-watched LDS Game 3 on any network since Red Sox-Yankees on TBS in 2018 (4.41M). Keep in mind it was the first such game on broadcast television since 2006.
The Rangers’ clinching win averaged a 10.5 rating and 31 share in Dallas-Ft. Worth — the market’s highest MLB rating since Game 7 of the 2019 World Series — and a 9.0/24 in Baltimore.
Monday’s Diamondbacks-Dodgers Game 2 ranks fourth for the postseason with 2.74 million viewers on TBS and TruTV, followed by Tuesday’s Astros-Twins Game 3 on FOX at a 1.5 and 2.72 million (2.81M across all platforms). The latter game averaged a 12.0 rating and 41 share in Minneapolis-St. Paul and a 9.3/35 in Houston.
As previously noted, the opening weekend of play is largely responsible for the declines from last year. Games on Saturday and Sunday averaged 2.34 million viewers, down 29% from last year’s equivalent Tuesday and Wednesday games (3.31M). Rangers-Orioles Game 2 delivered a postseason-low 0.8 and 1.60 million on FS1 opposite the NFL last Sunday, and Game 1 the previous day also clocked in under two million (1.0, 1.94M).
Rounding out the opening weekend slate, Diamondbacks-Dodgers opened with a 1.1 and 2.07 million on TBS and truTV last Saturday night; Twins-Astros opened with a 1.2 and 2.49 million on Saturday and a 1.2 and 2.28 million on Sunday, both on FS1.
(Nielsen estimates from Fox and WBD PR, this website 10.10, Programming Insider 10.10)
