Nielsen Wire » Red Sox v. Rays http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire Consumer Insights, News, Research & Reports Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Red Sox V. Rays Game 7 Draws Record-Breaking TV Ratings http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/red-sox-v-rays-game-7-draws-record-breaking-tv-ratings/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/red-sox-v-rays-game-7-draws-record-breaking-tv-ratings/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:10:05 +0000 admin http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=3005 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.

]]> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/red-sox-v-rays-game-7-draws-record-breaking-tv-ratings/feed/ 0 Top 10 Cable TV Rankings: October 6 – 12, 2008 http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/top-10-cable-tv-rankings-october-6-12-2008/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/top-10-cable-tv-rankings-october-6-12-2008/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:12:05 +0000 admin http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=2575 RANK PROGRAM NETWORK DAYS VIEWERS (P2+) 1 NFL REGULAR SEASON – L (VIKINGS/SAINTS) ESPN MONDAY 10,975,000 2 SR/PRES DEBATE 2 2008(S)-10/07/2008 CNN TUESDAY 9,228,000 3 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE(S)-10/07/2008 FOXNC TUESDAY 8,773,000 4 ON THE RECORD W/GRETA FOXNC TUESDAY 7,645,000 5 ANDERSON COOPER 360 CNN TUESDAY 7,633,000 6 MLB ALCS (RED SOX-RAYS 1) TBSC FRIDAY 6,689,000 7 MLB ALCS (RED SOX-RAYS 2) TBSC SATURDAY 6,089,000 8 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE CVG(S)-10/07/2008 FOXNC TUESDAY 5,773,000 9 MLB DIVISION SERIES (ANGELS-RED SOX 4) TBSC MONDAY 5,720,000 10 PRES DEBATE/ANALYSIS(S)-10/07/2008 FOXNC TUESDAY 5,432,000 Source: The Nielsen Company (October 6, 2008 – October 12, 2008). ]]> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/top-10-cable-tv-rankings-october-6-12-2008/feed/ 0