Ratings Roundup: Full MLB Division Series Rundown; NFL Slump Continues

Ratings roundup is a rundown of ratings news from the past week and is derived from based on press releases and reports around the web. In this week's edition, a full rundown of the MLB Postseason numbers for the ALDS and NLDS, NFL week 5 ratings, week 6 of the college football season, record-breaking numbers for ESPN's WNBA Finals, and more.

MLB Postseason: ALDS and NLDS Rundown

The Chicago Cubs' National League Division Series clinching victory over the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night propelled FS1 to the most-watched telecast in the network's history, delivering an average audience of 6,368,000 viewers (according to Fast Nationals). Tuesday night's record viewership for FS1 (6,368,000 viewers) edged out Game 5 of last year's ALDS (Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals) the network's previous record holder, by 7% (vs. 5,944,000 viewers), and is up 62% over 2014's NLDS Game 4 (San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals) that aired in the late window on FS1 (vs. 3,921,000 viewers).

FOX Deportes also saw growth Tuesday night with Cubs vs. Giants, drawing an average of 140,000 viewers, up 155% over last year's Blue Jays vs. Rangers ALDS Game 4 (vs. 55,000 viewers). In the later innings, Tuesday night's game peaked with 6,953,000 viewers watching on FS1 and topped out at 189,000 viewers watching on FOX Deportes. When combined, Tuesday night's game peaked with over 7 million viewers watching between FS1 and FOX Deportes.

On the digital front, FOX Sports GO's average minute audience was 115,929, which is the highest average minute audience of any authenticated event in FS GO history. (Fox Sports)

On Oct. 10, Game 3 of the same NLDS series, a 13-inning Giant's comeback thriller, notched a 2.5 final rating and 4.1 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 Monday night, up 1% in ratings and 3% in viewership from Dodgers/Mets on TBS last year (2.4, 4.0M) and up 32% and 42%, respectively, from Dodgers/Cardinals on FS1 in 2014 (1.9, 2.9M). The game game peaked at 4,951,000 viewers between 11:30pm - 12:00am ET, and did not fall below 3 million viewers from that point through the game's final out.

When combined with FOX Deportes' peak of 139,000 viewers, the game topped out at over 5 million viewers between 11:30pm - 12:00am ET. FOX Deportes delivered 101,000 total viewers for Monday night's Cubs at Giants broadcast, 11% above total viewers for its presentation from Game 3 of last year's ALDS between the Blue Jays and Rangers (91,000 total viewers) (Fox Sports and SMW)

MLB Network's two 2016 NLDS game telecasts led to its best combined Postseason game viewership in history, with an average 1.7 HH rating and 2.8 million viewers, up 55% and 75% respectively over 2015. Monday's NLDS Game Three between the Nationals/Dodgers drew a 1.0 household score to the channel with 1.5 million viewers. (Cynopsis Sports)

Sunday's ALDS Game 3 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers delivered an average audience of 4.73 million viewers (2 ) becoming Sportsnet's most-watched program of 2016 and third most-watched broadcast of all time. More than 10 million viewers watched some part of Sunday's Game 3 broadcast on Sportsnet. Audience levels peaked at 7.03 million at 11:02 p.m. ET in the bottom of the 10th inning immediately following Josh Donaldson crossing home plate with the game-winning run, securing a spot for the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series.

Following the game, 2.07 million viewers stayed locked to Sportsnet, watching Sportsnet Central's post-game coverage most in network history. Prior to the game, 1.43 million viewers watched Blue Jays Central pre-game show also the most in history. (Sportsnet)

NBC Drops Puck on NHL Season With Big Opener

NBCSN's doubleheader coverage of NHL Face-Off on Wednesday night produced the most-watched regular-season doubleheader in the network's history. The opening night Wednesday Night Rivalry twin bill, featuring 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff rematches between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, and the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, combined to average 696,000 viewers, up 3% percent vs. the previous record (679,000; 10/8/14; Flyers-Bruins and Sharks-Kings).

The Blues' 5-2 win over the Blackhawks (8:01-10:41 p.m. ET) averaged 905,000 viewers, making it the fifth most-watched NHL regular-season game in NBCSN history, and peaking with nearly 1.1 million viewers (1.076 million) from 10:30-10:41 p.m. ET. It was NBCSN's most-watched regular-season game ever featuring the Blues.

San Jose's 2-1 win vs. Los Angeles (10:41 p.m.-1:18 a.m. ET) averaged 484,000 viewers, up 22% vs. the same matchup on opening night last year, and ranking as the second most-watched regular-season late game of a doubleheader (Wild-Blackhawks; 588,000, 3/20/16) in NBCSN history.

Locally, Blues-Blackhawks produced a 6.1 rating in St. Louis to rank as the market's second most-watched Blues game ever on NBCSN. Chicago produced a 5.2 rating for Blues-Blackhawks, followed by San Jose (1.4) and Los Angeles (1.1) for Kings-Sharks.

Last night's Capitals-Penguins game, which featured the Penguins raising their Stanley Cup championship banner, delivered a 0.32 overnight rating, up 78% vs. the 2015-16 regular-season non-exclusive time period average (0.18). Pittsburgh posted an 8.2 local rating, making NBCSN the No. 1 network in the market during the game, while Washington delivered a 1.3 rating. (NBC Sports)

NFL Week 5

The Week 5 Cardinals/49ers Thursday Night Football game had a 7.4 final rating and 12.1 million viewers on CBS and NFL Network, down 22% in ratings and 20% in viewership from Colts/Texans last year (9.5, 15.1M), down 24% and 27%, respectively, from Vikings/Packers in 2014 (9.8, 16.5M) and the lowest rated primetime game

LINK:	http://www.sportsvideo.org/2016/10/14/ratings-roundup-full-mlb-divisio...
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