Though up big from last year, the second game of the Tigers/Yankees series did not earn blockbuster numbers on TBS.
Game 2 of the Tigers/Yankees American League Championship Series drew a 3.1 U.S. rating and 5.040 million viewers on TBS Sunday, up 63% in ratings and 67% in viewership from Cardinals/Brewers Game 2 last year (1.9, 3.021M), but down 14% in both measures compared to Yankees/Rangers Game 2 in 2010 (3.6, 5.831M).
Last year’s game aired on a Monday night; the 2010 game aired on a Saturday afternoon.
Compared to Game 2 of last year’s Tigers/Rangers ALCS on FOX (4.2, 6.568M), ratings and viewership for Sunday’s game declined by 26% and 23%, respectively.
Sunday’s game ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed League Championship Series telecast to ever involve the New York Yankees. Overall, the game earned the second-worst numbers ever for an ALCS game, ahead of only Rays/Red Sox Game 3 in 2008 (3.0, 4.499M).
The NLCS, which typically features lower-profile teams than the ALCS, has frequently earned lower numbers.
Locally, Game 2 drew a 26.2 rating in Detroit and a 9.7 in New York.
Through two games, Tigers/Yankees has averaged a 3.8 U.S. rating and 6.110 million viewers on TBS — up 90% in ratings and 92% in viewership from Cardinals/Brewers last year (2.0, 3.184M), but down 12% in both measures compared to Yankees/Rangers in 2010 (4.3, 6.969M).
The series ranks as the third-best League Championship Series on TBS through two games, trailing the network’s two previous ALCS (2010 and 2008).
(Sunday’s numbers and two-game average from Turner Sports press release)
