Ratings Roundup: Yankees Ouster Draws Record Cable Audience; NFL on Fox on a Roll

The Detroit Tigers series-clinching win over the New York Yankees Thursday night on TBS was the most watched most watched LDS game in cable television history and the most watched LDS game on television since 2005 (Game 5, Yankees-Angels). The game generated 720,000 million total viewers and a 6.2 U.S. HH Rating. Locally, the telecast averaged a 18.3  Household rating in the New York DMA and a 27.6 Household rating in the Detroit DMA…

…After struggling to draw viewers in the first three games (Game 3 drew a record-low for Turner with a 1.2 rating and 2.1 million viewers), the Brewers-Diamondbacks series made a comeback in Game 4. The primetime telecast notched a 2.5 rating and 3.615 million viewers on TBS, easily the highest marks of the series. Locally, Game 3 earned a 17.2 rating and Game 4 scored a 16.5 in Milwaukee, while the Phoenix market turned in an 11.3 for Game 3 and a 12.0 for Game 4…

…The Cardinals and Phillies earned solid numbers in Games 3 and 4. Tuesday’s Game 3 between the Phillies and Cardinals earned a 3.1 U.S. rating and 4.617 million viewers on TBS, up 19% in ratings and 9% in viewership from the comparable game on the fifth day of last year’s postseason (SF/ATL G3: 2.6, 4.238M). The next day, Game 4 of the series scored a 3.0 and 4.507 million viewers, flat in ratings and down 3% in viewership from the comparable game on the sixth day of last year’s postseason (SF/ATL G4: 3.0, 4.667M). Games 3 and 4 rank as the two most-viewed games of the postseason that did not involve the Yankees. Locally, in Philadelphia, Game 3 drew a 21.6 rating and Game 4 scored a 21.3 in Philadelphia, while Games 3 and 4 drew ratings of 20.4 and 19.2 in St. Louis, respectively…

…NFL on FOX continuted its blistering start last Sunday as it’s Week 4 single-header was the most-watched single-header broadcast since 1995 and ties as the highest-rating for a single-header since 1998. The game beat out both CBS’s National Game (13.6/25) and NBC’s Sunday Night Football (11.5/18) with a 14.0/30 rating/share (23.3 million viewers), up 26% over last year’s doubleheader average of an 11.1/23 (18.5 million). Through four weeks, the NFL on FOX is averaging a 12.2/25 (20.4 million viewers), up 4% over last year’s 11.7/25 (19.7 million) and on pace to be FOX’s highest-rated and most-watched season ever…

…Shifted to primetime at the last minute, last Sunday’s Game 1 of the 2011 WNBA Finals had a modest rise in viewership on ESPN. Game 1 between the Dream and Lynx earned a 0.30 U.S. rating and 491,000 viewers on ESPN Sunday night, down 9% in ratings but up 9% in viewership compared to last year (ATL/SEA G1: 0.33, 450K, ABC), and down 19% and 12%, respectively, compared to 2009 (IND/PHX G1: 0.37, 555K, ESPN2).