TBS earned a 5.8 overnight rating for the Mets' series-clinching 3-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 of their NLDS on Thursday night. That number marks the second-highest overnight ever for an NLDS game on the net, behind only Cardinals-Phillies Game 5 in '11, which drew a 6.1 overnight. TBS in '13 drew a 3.9 overnight for Tigers-A's ALDS Game 5, which also aired on a Thursday night. Mets-Dodgers drew a 18.4 rating in the N.Y. market, the best local rating for a Mets game on any net since ’06. The L.A. market delivered a 11.0 local rating (THE DAILY).
FS1 SETS VIEWERSHIP MARK: Royals-Astros Game 5 on Wednesday drew 5.944 million viewers to FS1, making it the most-watched telecast in the net’s history, besting the prior mark set by last season's Giants-Cardinals NLCS Game 4 (5.092 million) by 17%. FS1’s three most-watched programs are now MLB postseason games. Viewership for Wednesday's game peaked between 10:30-10:45pm ET with 6.7 million viewers. The game also delivered 146,000 viewers on Fox Deportes, making it the net’s most-watched ALDS game this year. Blue Jays-Rangers ALDS Game 5, which preceded Royals-Astros on Wednesday afternoon, drew 3.199 million viewers. It peaked at 5.796 million viewers from 7:30-7:45pm. FS1 averaged 2.795 million viewers for eight ALDS games this year, down 10% from 3.15 million viewers for six NLDS games in '14, which featured Giants-Nationals and Cardinals-Dodgers. Nielsen figures do not include Canadian markets. MLB Network carried Royals-Astros Game 3 and Blue Jays-Rangers Game 2. This is FS1's second year carrying LDS games (THE DAILY).
LOBBING IT IN: In N.Y., Bob Raissman notes TBS' Sam Ryan during her fourth-inning interview Thursday night with Dodgers manager Don Mattingly "never asked him" about an in-dugout confrontation earlier in the game with RF Andre Ethier. The net deserves credit for "catching" the incident on camera, but the area was not miked. Ryan when interviewing Mattingly "tossed a couple of Twinkies" and "never asked him about the verbal confrontation." While Ryan is "usually reliable," this was "a major oversight." After providing the "incredible picture, which TBS only replayed once, it couldn’t deliver any answers" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/16). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth asks, "If Ryan was close enough to the Dodgers' dugout to prep for the Mattingly interview, did she not see the exchange take place? Did someone in the TBS production truck fail to tell her about it?" A TBS spokesperson would only say there was a "miscommunication" about this incident (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 10/16).
MADE FOR TV: The AP noted the seventh inning of Wednesday's Blue Jays-Rangers Game 5 is "getting its own TV special." Fox will air an "hour-long program recapping the frame full of bizarre plays." "The Unforgettable Inning" will be hosted by FS1's C.J. Nitkowski and broadcast Friday at 6:00pm on FS1. Meanwhile, Sportsnet will be "airing a replay of the fateful game in its entirety across Canada" starting Friday at 2:00pm (AP, 10/15).
BUCK STOPS HERE? In K.C., Pete Grathoff noted Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Buck's name was "trending on Twitter on Thursday" because some Royals fans "were unhappy" that Buck, a St. Louis native, would be calling the ALCS. A petition started by K.C. resident Adam Jones to have Fox "remove Buck from the broadcasts ... had nearly 4,000 signatures" by Thursday night. A "surprise" came when Buck addressed one of Jones' tweets. Buck tweeted, "Only 26 retweets! Cmon people lets get behind this! Let's get to 30 by day's end. #wecanKC" (KCSTAR.com, 10/15).
