Oct 14, 2020; Arlington, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (5) hits an RBI single against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of game three of the 2020 NLCS at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

I’m running out of ways to describe the poor viewership for the ALCS on TBS and the NLCS on Fox and FS1.

Game 4 of the ALCS between the Rays and Astros, which started at the unsightly time of 8:40 PM ET, drew 2.719 million viewers. That’s a high for the series, and the second highest of the round behind Game 1 of the NLCS on Fox. It represents an increase of nearly 600,000 viewers for Game 3, with Tampa Bay losing 4-3 and failing at their first opportunity to eliminate Houston. Overall, the average for the four games in the series sits at just 2.197 million viewers, an all-time low for any LCS matchup.

Over in the Senior Circuit, the situation turned much worse. The Dodgers’ 15-3 pummeling of the Braves drew just 2.094 million viewers on FS1, the third-least watched LCS game ever (ahead of just the first two games of the Rays-Astros series). This game likely wasn’t helped by LA’s 11-run first inning, which would help nudge viewers toward changing the channel.

Overall, the seven LCS games are averaging 2.506 million viewers, a number bolstered by the season-high 4.202 million viewers that tuned in for Game 1 of the NLCS on Fox.

Here’s your snapshot at viewership for the seven games thus far.

We’ll now move on to Thursday, with two more games on the docket. Game 5 of the ALCS gets the early window, starting at 5 PM ET. The late window goes to Game 4 of the NLCS at 8 PM, which will get a boost from a simulcast on Fox and FS1, helpfully aided by the shift of Bills-Chiefs from Thursday to this coming Monday. And while that late window won’t have a presidential debate to deal with, it does have to deal with dueling town halls from Joe Biden and President Trump on network TV.

[Data via ShowBuzz Daily]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.