Ratings Roundup: 2021 World Series Sees Year-Over-Year Increase; NBA Season Tips Off on ESPN, TNT By SVG Staff
Friday, October 29, 2021 - 7:00 am
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Ratings roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, first two games of 2021 World Series see an increase, the NBA season tips off on ESPN, and more.
MLB Postseason 10,539,000 viewers watched the Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves across Fox, Fox Deportes, and Fox Sports streaming services. The game on Fox averaged 10,280,000 viewers.
The telecast was up 13% over the last year's Game 2 on Fox (9,105,000) and peaked from 8:45 to 9 p.m. ET with 11,753,000 viewers.
The game ranks as the most-watched telecast of the day on any network and was the second most-streamed World Series Game 2 in Fox Sports history with an AMA of 186,741. In local markets, Atlanta saw a 23.3/42 rating and a 27.4/50 in Houston.
In Game 1, 11,077,000 viewers saw the Braves win a road game across Fox, Fox Deportes, and Fox Sports streaming services. The game averaged 10,811,000 viewers on Fox.
The telecast was up 17% over the last year's Game 1 on Fox (9,268,000) and peaked from 9:39 to 9:45 p.m. T with 12,704,000 viewers.
Game 1 ranked as the most-watched telecast of the day on any network and was the most-streamed World Series Game 1 in Fox Sports history with an AMA of 276,619.
Prior to the start of the World Series, 6,175,000 viewers watched the Houston Astros eliminated the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series across FS1, Fox Deportes, and Fox Sports streaming services. The game averaged 5,812,000 viewers on FS1/
This telecast peaked from 10:30 to 10:45 p.m. ET with 6,827,000 viewers and was up 88% through last year's Game 6 of the ALCS.
Overall, TBS scored its most-watched MLB Postseason coverage since 2018. With an average of 4.4 million viewers, the network's viewership is up 95% vs. 2020 and 21% vs. 2019. TBS won the night across cable television 11 times during the MLB Postseason and garnered growth across all key demos and platforms.
Additional highlights from this year's MLB Postseason coverage on TBS include:
Most-Viewed NLCS Game 6 on Any Network in a Half-Decade
Saturday's series-deciding Game 6 telecast between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers is the most-viewed NLCS Game 6 on any network since 2016, averaging 6.9 million viewers - up 99% vs. last year's LCS Game 6 coverage on TBS. The telecast peaked with an average of 9.3 million viewers from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET.
TBS's exclusive coverage of the Braves' pennant-clinching NLCS Game 6 win is the most-viewed Braves telecast in the Atlanta market on any network since 2005, with an 18.1 HH rating.
TBS's NLCS Coverage Averages More Than Five Million Viewers
TBS's exclusive 2021 NLCS coverage - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves - is the most-viewed LCS coverage since 2018, with an average of 5.2 million viewers over six games (up 88% vs. 2020's ALCS coverage through six games and up 30% vs. 2019's NLCS four game coverage).
2021 MLB Postseason on TBS Produces Huge Gains Among All Key Demos
The network's 2021 MLB Postseason game telecasts generated a 98% lift in People 18-49 and double-digit increases among all key demos, including a 76% lift among People 18-34 vs. last year.
Standout Performances in Local Markets Throughout the Postseason
NLDS Game 5 coverage between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants delivered the most watched LDS telecast this postseason and the best NLDS game telecast on TBS since 2017. The telecast set all-time records for an MLB on TBS game telecast in both the San Francisco (21.8 HH rating) and Los Angeles (18.5) markets.
The National League Wild Card game telecast - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Dodgers - on TBS generated a 23.0 HH rating in St. Louis, the best local performance for an MLB game telecast on any network in the market since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
Turner Sports Streaming Platforms Shatter All-Time Records for Consumption
Turner Sports' TV Everywhere platforms produced a record for streaming consumption on digital platforms, including an increase of 186% in minutes streamed vs. the same number of games during the 2019 Postseason, the last time the network carried NL games. This year's Postseason produced each of the top-10, all-time best performing MLB games streamed through Turner Sports' TV Everywhere platforms.
Bleacher Report Connects with Large Audiences Across Social and the App
The 2021 MLB Postseason generated massive engagement and video views for Bleacher Report, with highlights including:
October ranking as B/R Walk-Off's most engaged month since its launch on social platforms with over two million total engagements;
B/R recording five million cross-platform engagements with its MLB-related content, up 43% vs. the comparable time period in 2020;
MLB streams in the B/R App recording 18.9 million page views ( 9% vs. 2020) and nearly 900,000 app engagements ( 91% vs. 2020);
Over 44 million video views on Bleacher Report and Bleacher Report Walk-Off social handles including some of the following content highlights:
A fun studio visit with Major League Wiffleball
A new episode of Untold Stories with Pedro Martinez
The debut of the B/R Walk-Off chain
A notable Charles Barkley prediction
Behind-the-scenes access to series clinching celebrations
NFL Week 7 ESPN's Monday Night Football Week 7 presentation added to the franchise's season milestones and multi-year weekly viewership highs, as an average of 12.9 million viewers tuned in for the New Orleans Saints at the Seattle Seahawks on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes (Oct. 25, 8 p.m. ET). The Seahawks-Saints viewers
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Ratings Roundup: 2021 World Series Sees Year-Over-Year Increase; NBA Season Tips Off on ESPN, TNT By SVG Staff 
