 Is the glass half empty or full for TBS and their coverage of the Division Series? With the Division Series now in the books and no decisive Game Fives in the mix, Nielsen Media Research reports that TBS averaged a 3.2 cable rating or 4.3 million viewers, a drop of 27.3 percent from the year prior when the Division Series posted a 4.4 rating with 5.7 million viewers over 13 games. However, as Mediaweek reports, TBS can claim a victory regardless of the viewership decline: TBS swept all three major demos, averaging 2.27 million adults 25-54, 2.15 million viewers 18-49 and 950,000 18-34s, according to Nielsen Media Research data for the week ended Oct. 5. In a week dominated by sports and politics, TBS served up its largest audience on Sunday night, delivering 6.2 million viewers with Game 3 of the American League Division Series between the Red Sox and Angels. A pinch-hit single by shortstop Erick Aybar in the top of the 12th inning secured a 5-4 victory for the Angels, in a game that delivered clutch demo numbers (3.02 million 25-54s; 2.76 million 18-49s). In Chicago, Game 1 of the Dodgers-Cubs series lured 5.38 million viewers between 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. (Oct. 1). In what would mark the beginning of the end of the Cubbies’ 2008 campaign, the Dodgers ran away with the series opener, 7-2, as a national TV audience of 2.5 million 25-54s and 2.49 million 18-49s looked on.
To add to the highest ratings on cable for the week ending Oct 5., the Division Series on TBS outdrew ABC in prime in two key demographics: men 18-49 and men 25-54. The ratings decline from last year are attributed to a number of factors including the lack of New York teams, the aforementioned fact that none of the series reached a decisive Game Five, and the fact that games went up against the Oct. 2 VP debate which was seen by nearly 70 million viewers.
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