Ratings Roundup: 2018 MLB Postseason Sees Low Numbers in NLDS; NFL Ratings Continue to Rise By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - 10:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Ratings roundup is a rundown of rating news from the past week and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, the 2018 MLB Postseason is through the Wildcard and Divison Series, NFL overall ratings continue to rise, college football reaches the halfway point, ESPN and RSN's compile final ratings for regular season baseball, NBC Sports Network is on pace to create network history, viewership of all programs on MLB Network increased in 2018, and ESPN reports their September numbers.
2018 MLB Postseason At This Moment
The MLB Postseason is underway with the completion of both Wildcard games and Division Series. TBS's exclusive coverage of the 2018 American League Wild Card presented by Hankook Tire - the Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees (8-11:30 p.m. ET) - led the network to win the night across all of cable television, based on overnight delivery. The live game telecast peaked with an average of 7.5 million total viewers from 9:15-9:30 p.m. ET, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals, and delivered significant audience growth across all platforms.
Wednesday night's A.L. Wild Card game telecast garnered an average minute audience of 6.4 million viewers across all platforms, an increase of 51% over the 2016 A.L. Wild Card game on TBS and a 45% gain when compared to last year's N.L. Wild Card game on the network.
Additional highlights include:
Wednesday night's Yankees/Athletics telecast on TBS is up double digits across all key demos, including a 37% increase in People 18-49 and 32% in Men 18-34 over the network's A.L. Wild Card telecast in 2016.
Turner's TV Everywhere platforms generated over nine million total streaming minutes, a 120% increase compared to the 2016 A.L. Wild Card Game on TBS.
The 2018 A.L. Wild Card Game generated over 11 million Twitter impressions on Bleacher Report's MLB handle, a 13% increase over last year's comparable Wild Card.
The Bay Area posted an 8.9 overnight rating, the best on record for an A's game telecast on any network since 2014
According to SportsMediaWatch, Game 1 of the Brewers-Rockies NLDS matchup on Thursday, October 4 earned a 1.6 rating and 2.46 million viewers on FS1, up 24% in viewership from the same window on MLB Network last year (Red Sox-Astros: n/a, 1.99M) and up 23% and 32% respectively from 2016 on TBS (Blue Jays-Rangers: 1.3, 1.86M). Fs1's Game 2 reached a 1.1 rating with 1.77 million viewers. According to Cynopsis Sports, the series-clinching game on Sunday on MLB Network drew an average of two million viewers, to rank as the channel's fourth-best MLB game telecast ever(Cynopsis Sports)
In the other NLDS, Game 1 of Dodgers-Braves drew a 1.3 and 2.1 million on MLB Network - down 43% in ratings and 44% in viewership from last year's aforementioned Yankees-Indians game and down 55% in both measures from 2016 on TBS (Red Sox-Indians: 2.9, 4.67M). The Dodgers win delivered the third-largest Major League Baseball audience ever on MLB Network, trailing last year's Yankees-Indians Game 2 (3.20M) and Game 2 of Giants-Cubs in 2016 (4.61M) (SMW). Game 2 on FS1 had a 1.2 rating and 2.03 million viewers (-31%). Sunday night's Game 3 increased slightly - with a 1.8 rating and 3.02 million viewers on FS1, down 40% in ratings and 43% in viewership from Indians-Yankees in the same window last year (3.0, 5.29M) but up 38% and 42% respectively from 2016 (Rangers-Blue Jays: 1.4, 2.37M). The game that saw the Dodgers return to the NLCS had 2.17 million on FS1 - down 23% from Nationals-Cubs Game 3 on TBS last year (2.83M) but up 42% from Nationals-Dodgers Game 3 on MLB Network in 2016 (1.53M) (SMW)
In the American League, Game 1 of Indians-Astros had 1.91 million on TBS, up 17% from last year (Red Sox-Astros: 1.63M) and up 19% from 2016 (Blue Jays-Rangers: 1.61M). Game 2 had a 1.6 (-24%) and 2.50 million (-29%). As for Game 2, the telecast reached a 1.6 (-24%) with 2.50 million spectators (-29%). The defending World Series champions advanced in Game 3 on Monday afternoon in front of a television audience of 1.92 million on TBS, down 18% from Astros-Red Sox Game 4 last year (2.83M) (SMW)
In the final Division Series, Yankees-Red Sox Game 1 earned a 3.35 rating and 5.57 million viewers on TBS, up 59% in viewership from last year (Cubs-Nationals: n/a, 3.50M) and up 158% and 152% respectively from 2016 on FS1 (Dodgers-Nationals: 1.3, 2.21M). The second game of the series on Saturday night had a 3.0 and 5.06 million - up 82% in ratings and 80% in viewership from last year (D'Backs-Dodgers: 1.65, 2.81M) and up 19% and 10% respectively from Giants-Cubs on MLB Network in 2016 (2.5, 4.61M) (SMW). A lopsided Game 3 in favor of Boston earned 4.41 million viewers on TBS, down 2% from Indians-Yankees Game 4 on FS1 last year (4.49M) but up 9% from Indians-Red Sox on TBS in 2016 (4.03M). Due to the score, it was the first game of the series to decline in comparison to last year's window with a 17% drop. Last night's series-clinching ALDS Game 4 on TBS was the most-viewed LDS Game 4 on the network since 2007, with an average of 7.1 million viewers, and ranked as the top program of the night across all of cable television. The telecast peaked with an average of 8.5 million viewers from 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET. Locally, the ALDS Game 4 telecast generated a 23.9 HH rating in Boston, the highest-rated LDS game on any network in the market since 2008.
Week 5 of NFL Action
The Monday Night Football matchup - which featured New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees breaking Peyton Manning's all-time NFL passing yards record in a 43-19
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Ratings Roundup: 2018 MLB Postseason Sees Low Numbers in NLDS; NFL Ratings Continue to Rise By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
