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]