A winner-take-all game featuring the nation’s top two markets delivered strong numbers for TBS.
Game 5 of the Mets/Dodgers National League Division Series scored a 5.8 overnight rating on TBS Thursday night, the highest of the postseason thus far (21 telecasts). The previous high was a 5.7 for the Astros/Yankees A.L. Wild Card Game on ESPN.
The Mets’ narrow win ranks as the highest rated baseball game on cable in the metered markets since 2011. This postseason has already included the top three games over that span — Thursday’s game, Astros/Yankees, and the Cubs/Pirates N.L. Wild Card Game (5.5).
Game 5 had an 18.4 rating in New York, the highest for a Mets game in the market since the team’s NLCS run in 2006. It drew an 11.0 in Los Angeles.
Keep in mind the Mets/Dodgers series has done disproportionately well in the metered markets. On Tuesday, for example, it topped Cardinals/Cubs by 14% in the overnights but ended up tied in the final ratings. With that in mind, Game 5 may not end up as the top telecast of the postseason when final numbers are released.
(Thu. numbers from twitter.com/turnersportspr [1], [2], [3])
