TBS earned a 4.0 overnight rating for the Royals’ 2-1 win over the Orioles in Game 3 of the ALCS last night, up 8% over a 3.7 overnight for the comparable Cardinals-Dodgers NLCS Game 3 in ’13, which aired on a Monday night. Last night’s game peaked at a 4.7 rating from 10:15-10:30pm ET and helped TBS win the night across cable TV. The game earned a 35.7 local rating in K.C. -- the highest rating ever for an MLB game in the market -- and a 19.2 overnight in Baltimore. Meanwhile, the Giants’ 10-inning, 5-4 win over the Cardinals in NLCS Game 3 yesterday afternoon earned a 2.1 overnight for FS1, making it the top-rated cable net from 4:00-8:00pm. That number is down from a 4.1 overnight in ’13 for Red Sox-Tigers ALCS Game 3, which also aired on a Tuesday afternoon, but was broadcast on Fox. Yesterday’s game peaked at a 3.1 rating from 7:00-7:15pm. The game delivered a 19.3 local rating in St. Louis, while the S.F.-Oakland-San Jose market earned an 8.3. Both of FS1's NLCS telecasts to date in the St. Louis market have topped the combined 15.7 local rating earned for ESPN's 49ers-Rams "MNF" matchup this week (Josh Carpenter, Staff Writer).
FROM HERO TO ZERO? In Baltimore, David Zurawik writes it is "time to stop being Baltimore-nice" about Baseball HOFer Cal Ripken's work as an TBS MLB analyst. Zurawik: "Given his I-don't-really-want-to-be-here demeanor in the TBS broadcast booth during the first two games of the ALCS series, it needs to be said: Ripken stinks as a TV analyst. I hope this is the last series he ever calls for TBS." During Royals-Orioles ALCS Game 2 on Saturday, Ripken was "sometimes silent for stretches of time," even after play-by-play man Ernie Johnson "tried to tee it up for his analysis." Ripken "seemed somewhere between somnolent and comatose in this playoff series during the first two games." He was "a little less lethargic" in last night’s ALCS Game 3, but it "didn't make for that much better a performance" (Baltimore SUN, 10/15).
