TBS's Postseason Push Continues

Day Two Tripleheader Averages 4.1 Million Watchers

Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 10/9/2009 4:53:47 PM

TBS continued to swing a sweet ratings stroke with its exclusive coverage of Major League Baseball's Division Series.
The network's Oct. 8 tripleheader averaged a 2.9 U.S. household rating, 3.8 cable rating and 4.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen data. TBS officials said its second-day playoff audience average exceeded last-year's equivalent by 14%.
As for the individual contests, the second game of the Philadelphia Phillies-Colorado Rockies series, averaged a 2.2 U.S. rating, 2.5 cable rating and 2.96 million viewers. This early-window presentation -- first pitch was around 2:30 p.m. (ET) for the Rockies' 5-4 triumph -- notched a 13% increase in viewers from its counterpart in 2008, the Chicago White Sox-Tampa Bay Rays contest.
Game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals-Los Angeles series scored a 3.5 U.S. rating, 4.0 cable mark and 5.18 million watchers, with the latter resulting in a 23% jump from TBS's second-window game last season, the Milwaukee Brewers-Phillies battle.
The nightcap of the Oct. 8 tripleheader, the first game of American League Division Series between the Wild Card winner Boston Red Sox and Western titlist Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, produced a 3.0 U.S. rating average, 3.5 cable rating and 4.43 million watchers on average. The game recorded a 10% increase in audience over last year's Dodgers-Chicago Cubs contest in the late window.
For the first two days of the 2009 playoffs, TBS has averaged a 3.1 household rating and 4.5 million viewers, gains of 15% in both measures over the first two days of the network's Division Series telecast in 2008.
Coupled with its Oct. 6 telecast of the Minnesota Twins' 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers in 12 innings in the American League Central tiebreaker, TBS has enjoyed its three most-watched primetime performances in 2009, according to network officials.That thriller averaged 6.54 million watchers, the most for any regular-season game, broadcast or cable, during the 2009 regular season.

 

Individually,