TBS drew a 5.5 overnight rating for the Cubs' 4-0 win over the Pirates in the NL Wild Card game last night, marking the net's best Wild Card overnight since the format began in '12. That rating is up 45% from TBS' Royals-A's telecast last year, which aired on a Tuesday night. It also marks TBS' best overnight for any MLB game since Cardinals-Phillies NLDS Game 5 in '11 drew a 6.1 overnight. TBS' previous high for a Wild Card game was a 4.1 overnight for Orioles-Rangers in '12. Cubs-Pirates peaked at a 6.5 local rating from 10:15-10:30pm ET. Last night's game drew a 21.8 local rating in Chicago, which is the market's best figure for any MLB game telecast since the White Sox clinched the '05 World Series over the Astros in Game 4 (42.5 rating). Cubs-Pirates also drew a 26.2 local rating in Pittsburgh, up 16% from the Giants-Pirates NL Wild Card last year (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor). After the Cubs took a 3-0 lead following a Kyle Schwarber third-inning home run, TBS' Ron Darling said, “Our job in the booth here is to keep you around when the other team has gotten off to a big start. I am going to go against that adage right now and give you this stat: (Jake) Arrieta, three-or-more-run lead -- 16-0 this year” (“Cubs-Pirates,” TBS, 10/7).
CHERRY ON TOP: Fox' Joe Buck said calling a World Series featuring the Cubs "would be the highlight of my career." He added, "When people say, 'What's the one thing you want to do?' that's my answer: Cubs in the World Series. I don't want to do an NBA Finals or a Kentucky Derby or moderate a presidential debate, as if that would happen. I want to sit at Wrigley Field, look out and know that a World Series game is about to start. It would be the cherry on top." In Chicago, Ed Sherman noted the Cubs "would dramatically alter the arc of what has been a steady decline in World Series ratings over the last decade." Their presence "would be a huge national story, attracting non-traditional viewers." Buck: "It would be old-school ratings. It would be back to where the other networks wouldn't want to program against the games. The Cubs cut through unlike any other team. It would be that big. It would be overwhelming" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/7).
WE HAVE LIFTOFF: ESPN finished with 7.6 million viewers for the Astros' 3-0 win over the Yankees in the AL Wild Card game on Tuesday night, marking the most-viewed Wild Card telecast. It also was ESPN's most-viewed MLB game of any type, including LDS games, since '03. Astros-Yankees is up 46% from 5.2 million viewers for Royals-A's last year and up 36% from ESPN's coverage last year of Giants-Pirates, which drew 5.6 million viewers on a Wednesday night. That Giants-Pirates game in '14 was previously the record viewership for a Wild Card telecast (Karp).
