Nielsen Wire » NLCS

Red Sox V. Rays Game 7 Draws Record-Breaking TV Ratings

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:10:05 +0000

Game seven of the closely contested American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays drew the largest ever TV audience of any MLB playoff game aired on cable, Nielsen reported Tuesday.

The game, which aired on TBS Sunday night, drew almost 13.4 million average viewers, easily surpassing game four of last year’s Indians v. Yankees division series, which claimed second place overall with 9.2 million average viewers.

TV viewership of the ALCS games surged after the Red Sox overcame a seven-run deficit in game five to beat the Rays and stay in the series.

Last Thursday, game five drew 7.2 million average viewers. Game six of the series pulled in 8.9 million viewers, securing third place in Nielsen’s ranking of the all-time top MLB playoff game broadcasts on cable TV.

Rank	Top 10 MLB Playoff Games Broadcast On Cable TV	Date	Network	Viewers (P2+)
1	RED SOX-RAYS 7	10/19/2008	TBSC	13,357,000
2	INDIANS-YANKEES 4	10/8/2007	TBSC	9,232,000
3	RED SOX-RAYS 6	10/18/2008	TBSC	8,928,000
4	INDIANS-YANKEES 3	10/7/2007	TBSC	8,460,000
5	BRAVES/CUBS	10/3/2003	ESPN	8,126,000
6	YANKEES-INDIANS 2	10/5/2007	TBSC	7,578,000
7	CUBS/BRAVES	10/1/2003	ESPN	7,432,000
8	ANGELS/YANKEES	10/7/2005	ESPN	7,212,000
9	RAYS-RED SOX 5	10/16/2008	TBSC	7,211,000
10	TWINS/YANKEES	10/6/2004	ESPN	6,811,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (1996 – 2008).

View Nielsen’s full ranking of MLB playoffs ratings, dating back to 1996.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Mediaweek.

Primetime Broadcast Ratings, October 15, 2008

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:50:47 +0000

NBC’s post-debate analysis of the final presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama edged past ABC’s post-debate coverage to claim the number one spot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

FOX, which aired live coverage of Game 5 of Major League Baseball’s National League Championship Series — instead of the debate, rounded out the top three.

CBS’s post-debate analysis also made the top ten.

RANK	PROGRAM	NETWORK	VIEWERS (P2+)
1	DECISION ‘08:PRES ANALYS3(S)-10/15/2008	NBC	9,091,000
2	VOTE2008:ANALYSIS-WED(S)-10/15/2008	ABC	8,864,000
3	FOX MLB NLCS GAME 5(S)-10/15/2008	FOX	8,029,000
4	OLD CHRISTINE	CBS	7,613,000
5	GARY UNMARRIED	CBS	7,529,000
6	KNIGHT RIDER	NBC	7,470,000
7	CAMPAIGN ‘08-DEBATE ANL-3(S)-10/15/2008	CBS	7,189,000
8	PUSHING DAISIES	ABC	6,108,000
9	FOX MLB NLCS GAME 5 PRE(S)-10/15/2008	FOX	5,113,000
10	AMERICA’S TOP MODEL-5	CW	3,207,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 15, 2008).

Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience of almost 8 million viewers, while FOX took second place with almost 7.8 million average viewers. CBS and ABC claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.4 million and 7 million average viewers, respectively. Univision and the CW followed in fifth and sixth places with average audiences of roughly 2.8 million and 2.4 million viewers, respectively.

SPORTS WRAP: Sunday Night Sports — Is More, Better?

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:24:57 +0000

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.

Professional baseball, football, basketball, hockey — and even NASCAR — all converge in October, making it one of the year’s busiest sports months. Unfortunately, that plethora of options frequently presents sports fans with difficult TV viewing decisions.

Take this past Sunday — when NBC’s Sunday Night Football carried live coverage of the San Diego Chargers playing the New England Patriots. Meanwhile, Game 3 of the MLB National League Championship Series aired live on FOX.

NBC’s broadcast drew an average audience of 13.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen, while FOX’s MLB coverage drew 8.8 million average viewers.

The two games, broadcast simultaneously, triggered a fair bit of channel switching. According to Nielsen Sports, 37% of NBC’s Sunday Night Football audience watched at least six minutes of FOX’s MLB coverage. Meanwhile, 48% of those who watched the baseball game also watched at least six minutes of NBC’s NFL coverage.