The Cardinals' sweep by the Nationals was the team's "worst ratings performance, by far," in the 10 NLCS appearances it has made since '00, according to Dan Caesar of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The four games averaged a 17.0 local Nielsen rating, making the previous low of 29.6 in '02 seem "huge compared to the rating this year." Among the possible reasons given is that Nationals-Cardinals Game 1 "was on a Friday night, when TV use in general is low," as well as the fact that the Cards by Game 3 "were in a big hole and some fans were waiting for them to get back into the series before watching." However, those same reasons "weren't major factors earlier in this century, when Cardinals postseason games were appointment viewing." The NLCS figures continue the "trend of significantly falling television ratings for the team" overall. The Cardinals "had a 20-year low in regular-season ratings for their local TV package" on FS Midwest, while the five-game NLDS win over the Braves "drew the lowest rating of the Cardinals' last seven trips" to the division series. All of the Cardinals' postseason appearances this year were on TBS (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/18).
SOLID DRAW IN HOUSTON: In Houston, David Barron reports the local audience for the first three Yankees-Astros ALCS "has hit double digits." Game 1 on Saturday drew a 20.6 local rating on KRIV-Fox, while the next two games on FS1 earned a 18.7 and 16.8, respectively. By comparison, the local figures for N.Y. were 12.5, 10.6 and 8.5 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/18).
