The Wild Card round on its own averaged 4.6 million for the games on TBS and ESPN/ESPN2GETTY IMAGES
Despite seeing three of four matchups going to five games this year (18 telecasts), the League Divisional Series across TBS, FS1 and MLB Network saw its lowest viewership in at least a decade (3.04 million). Last year, the same networks averaged 3.2 million viewers (14 games), with the Red Sox meeting the Yankees on TBS in the ALDS. Two years ago, LDS games averaged 3.6 million viewers (17 games). The Wild Card round on its own averaged 4.6 million for the games on TBS and ESPN/ESPN2 (Nationals-Brewers and Rays-A’s, respectively), the lowest since ’12, when the current format began (Cardinals-Braves and Orioles-Rangers). For all postseason games, the league is averaging 3.2 million viewers, also the lowest in a decade and down from 3.7 million viewers last year. FS1 and MLB Network did see gains this year compared to ‘18, but TBS saw a drop with Red Sox-Yankees drawing big numbers on the net last year (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
FOOTBALL IS KING: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio noted last week in a head-to-head matchup, Patriots-Giants on Fox' "TNF" drew 16 million viewers, while Game 5 of Astros-Rays on FS1 drew 3.67 million. Florio: "None of this is a knock on the other sports. It’s just a reminder that, as the other sports desperately try to knock the NFL off the top of the TV ratings hill, the NFL isn’t going anywhere any time soon" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 10/13).
BROADCAST PRIORITIES: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth asked, "What does it show about Fox’s priorities when it gives an NFL regular-season Thursday night game preferential treatment over the MLB playoffs?" Fox' lead play-by-play man Joe Buck will "yield to Joe Davis" for Astros-Yankees ALCS Game 5 "because he’s needed" for a Week 7 Chiefs-Broncos game. The ALCS will also be "bumped from Fox’s national broadcast network to FS1." Then during next week’s World Series, Buck’s day off between Games 2 and 3 "includes an Oct. 24 side trip to Minnesota for the NFL’s Thursday night Week 8 telecast" (L.A. TIMES, 10/14). In Houston, David Barron wrote Fox is "no different than CBS in emphasizing the importance of the Thursday night game." But Buck said that it is a "challenge" to contemplate the necessary prep work for an NFL game while also "handling such a closely watched series as the Yankees and Astros." Buck: “I go where my bosses tell me to go" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/13).
STEALING THE SHOW: In N.Y., Bob Raissman noted Kevin Burkhardt has "finally taken control of Fox’s postseason MLB studio." But the net's "most informative voice (relegated to cameos) is former Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis, a must watch who should be given more air time" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/13).
