With the National League Championship Series over, the final viewership numbers are out. Turner is happy with what it garnered for a six game series, two games more than last year’s American League Championship Series that ended in a sweep. For TBS, the clinching Game 6 for the St. Louis Cardinals, a 9-0 blowout of the Los Angeles Dodgers received a decent 3.7 rating and averaged 6.1 million viewers.
The entire NLCS averaged a 3.2 rating for the six game series up 10% from 2011 when TBS last carried the National League. And the viewership averaged 5 million viewers, a 9% increase from two years ago.
Locally, St. Louis led all markets with a 34.4 rating. Los Angeles saw a 10.3.
TBS carried 24 out of a possible 27 maximum games in its contract. And for two Wild Card Games, 16 League Division games and 6 NLCS games, TBS averaged a 2.7 rating which is even with last year, but viewership averaged 4.160 million people, up 2% from 2012.
Here’s the TBS press release.
TBS’ Exclusive Coverage of 2013 National League Championship Series Averages Five Million Total Viewers to Deliver Audience Growth
Network Culminates MLB Postseason Coverage with Viewership Increases
TBS’ exclusive presentation of the 2013 National League Championship Series (NLCS) – the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games – averaged a 3.2 U.S. HH rating, up 10% compared with a 2.9 U.S. HH rating for the same number of telecasts during the 2011 NLCS between the Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. The corresponding average of five million total viewers for this year’s six-game series is an increase of 9% over an average of 4.6 million total viewers in 2011, despite two afternoon telecasts this year compared with one during the last NLCS to air on the network.
Throughout the NLCS series, TBS averaged 5,535,000 total viewers for four primetime telecasts, a 14% improvement over an average of 4,872,000 total viewers for five primetime telecasts in 2011.
Friday night’s decisive NLCS Game 6 – a lopsided 9-0 win by the Cardinals – averaged a 3.7 U.S. HH rating and 6.1 million total viewers, both up 3% over a 3.6 U.S. HH rating and 5.9 million total viewers for Game 6 of the 2011 NLCS. The telecast peaked with a 4.8 U.S. HH rating from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET.
Local highlights for Game 6 include a 34.4 HH rating in St. Louis, the highest rating among all markets during the 2013 MLB Postseason, and a 10.3 HH rating in Los Angeles.
Overall, despite all four MLB Division Series going the full five games last year and the absence of a team from New York this postseason – the largest television market with 7.5 million homes – the 2013 MLB Postseason on TBS averaged 4,160,000 total viewers for 24 game telecasts, up 2% compared with an average of 4,079,000 total viewers for the same number of telecasts in 2012. The network equaled last year’s 2.7 U.S. HH rating.
Since the start of the MLB Postseason, TBS ranked as basic cable’s No. 1 network in primetime among total viewers. Through Tuesday’s games, TBS won the night in primetime 10 times among total viewers.
Source: Fast Nationals and Metered Market Ratings based on Nielsen Live + Same Day data stream for the dates of the 2013 MLB Postseason vs. 2011 MLB Postseason on TBS 10/01/2013 – 10/18/2013 vs. 10/09/2011 – 10/20/11.
There you have it.
