Postseason baseball had enough juice to boost TBS to No. 1 on basic cable last week, but interest in the divisional series was way down from last year.
Facing stiff competition from the record-breaking vice-presidential debate and the absence of the eyeball-fetching New York Yankees, TBS’s ratings slumped compared to a year ago in its second season of carrying Major League Baseball postseason action.
Through Sunday, the 13 games of the network’s National League and American League Division Series were averaging 4.3 million total viewers, off 20 percent from 5.4 million average for 12 games the same time last year.
TBS still ranked first in primetime among total viewers and all the major adult demos. But the AL, without the Yankees in the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade, was hit especially hard. Through the first six games of the ALDS, TBS was off 25 percent from last year among households, from an average 4.78 million to 3.57 million.
Last year, the three highest-rated ALDS games in week one of the playoffs featured the Yankees, who hail from the country’s No. 1 market with 6.5 percent of all television households. By comparison, the Tampa Bay Rays, making their first AL playoff appearance this year, hail from the No. 14 market with 1.6 percent of TV households.
Certainly another factor in the ratings decline has been the relative lack of excitement of the series themselves. The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs, while the other winning squads – the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays – all lost just one game in their series.
But undoubtedly the biggest hurdle was the competition. The two Thursday playoff games that aired opposite the vice presidential debate, the second games in the NLDS, were two of the week’s three lowest-rated baseball games.
Meanwhile, the debate drew 69.9 million viewers across 11 networks, with Fox News Channel setting an all-time high and post- and pre-debate specials across the cable news networks drawing huge numbers.
Too, viewers may have been too distracted for baseball what with last week’s financial meltdown and accompanying drama over the federal bailout plan. CNBC and even low-rated Fox Business News saw huge viewership increases during mid to late afternoon, when several of the MLB games aired.
Last year was the first that TBS televised the games, and it did see substantial gains over the previous year, when ESPN, ESPN2 and Fox carried the divisional series. The network was aided by a huge promotional blitz to inform viewers of the change in carrier. With somewhat less promotion this year, the games may also have escaped casual fans’ notice.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 5:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TBS, ESPN, USA, CNN, Fox News Channel.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TBS, Fox News Channel, ESPN, USA, CNN.
Top movie (18-49s): No movies made the top 50 ad-supported cable programs of the week.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Ravens/Steelers” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 11.78 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Ravens/Steelers” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); Bravo’s “Project Runway” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.); CNN’s “Vice Presidential Debate” (Thursday, 9:02 p.m.); CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” (Thursday, 10:33 p.m.); TBS’s “Major League Baseball: Angels/Red Sox Game 3” (Sunday, 7:50 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Speed’s “NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,” Saturday 4 p.m. NASCAR’s third-tier series averaged 816,000 households for Speed, up 18 percent from the same race a year ago.
Show on the decline: TNT’s “The Closer,” Monday 9 p.m. The drama averaged 2.05 million total viewers, off 13 percent from 2.35 million the previous week.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
3407
|
NICK
|
1500
|
|
2
|
FOXN
|
2864
|
TBSC
|
1367
|
|
3
|
ESPN
|
2235
|
FOXN
|
1362
|
|
4
|
USA
|
1995
|
NAN
*
|
1261
|
|
5
|
CNN
|
1697
|
USA
|
1039
|
|
6
|
TOON
|
1369
|
TOON
|
955
|
|
7
|
NAN
|
1345
|
ESPN
|
942
|
|
8
|
TNT
|
1241
|
TNT
|
897
|
|
9
|
MSNB
|
1186
|
CNN
|
875
|
|
10
|
LIF
|
1104
|
ADSM*
|
848
|
|
11
|
SCIF
|
1077
|
LIF
|
773
|
|
12
|
AEN
|
1049
|
AEN
|
584
|
|
13
|
FX
|
933
|
MSNB
|
545
|
|
14
|
HALL
|
847
|
FX
|
522
|
|
15
|
CMDY
|
835
|
HIST
|
517
|
|
16
|
DISC
|
822
|
DISC
|
510
|
|
17
|
HGTV
|
792
|
TRU
|
509
|
|
18
|
SPK
|
786
|
HALL
|
507
|
|
19
|
FAM
|
777
|
SCIF
|
473
|
|
20
|
HIST
|
771
|
CMDY
|
472
|
|
21
|
TRU
|
733
|
HGTV
|
467
|
|
22
|
TLC
|
615
|
SPK
|
454
|
|
23
|
MTV
|
614
|
FAM
|
445
|
|
24
|
BRAV
|
613
|
FOOD
|
427
|
|
25
|
VH1
|
609
|
TVLD
|
422
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Ravens/Steelers
|
ESPN
|
8595
|
|
2
|
VP Debate
|
FOXN
|
7462
|
|
3
|
SR/Vice Pres Debate 2008
|
CNN
|
6515
|
|
4
|
On The Record W/Greta
|
FOXN
|
6465
|
|
5
|
VP Debate Coverage
|
FOXN
|
5322
|
|
6
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
5025
|
|
7
|
VP Debate Analysis
|
FOXN
|
4894
|
|
8
|
Angels-Red Sox 3
|
TBSC
|
4477
|
|
9
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
4216
|
|
10
|
Dodgers-Cubs 1
|
TBSC
|
4064
|
|
11
|
Red Sox-Angels 2
|
TBSC
|
3782
|
|
12
|
Cubs-Dodgers 3
|
TBSC
|
3720
|
|
13
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3625
|
|
14
|
Hannity & Colmes
|
FOXN
|
3609
|
|
15
|
Red Sox-Angels 1
|
TBSC
|
3449
|
|
16
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3409
|
|
17
|
Phillies-Brewers 3
|
TBSC
|
3274
|
|
18
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
3258
|
|
19
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3187
|
|
20
|
Brewers-Phillies 2
|
TBSC
|
3142
|
|
21
|
Twins-White Sox
|
TBSC
|
3129
|
|
22
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3113
|
|
23
|
Hannity & Colmes
|
FOXN
|
3097
|
|
24
|
Dodgers-Cubs 2
|
TBSC
|
3006
|
|
25
|
White Sox-Rays 2
|
TBSC
|
2974
|
|
25
|
Project Runway
|
BRAV
|
2974
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
950
|
TBSC
|
434
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
712
|
NAN
*
|
420
|
|
3
|
USA
|
624
|
ESPN
|
395
|
|
4
|
CMDY
|
454
|
ADSM*
|
394
|
|
5
|
CNN
|
431
|
NICK
|
324
|
|
6
|
FX
|
389
|
USA
|
282
|
|
7
|
MTV
|
381
|
CMDY
|
252
|
|
8
|
NAN
|
369
|
TNT
|
239
|
|
9
|
VH1
|
327
|
MTV
|
234
|
|
10
|
FAM
|
318
|
FX
|
219
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Ravens/Steelers
|
ESPN
|
3193
|
|
2
|
SR/Vice Pres Debate 2008
|
CNN
|
3166
|
|
3
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
2128
|
|
4
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
1998
|
|
5
|
Project Runway
|
BRAV
|
1592
|
|
6
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
1480
|
|
7
|
I Love Money
|
VH1
|
1337
|
|
8
|
Cubs-Dodgers 3
|
TBSC
|
1200
|
|
9
|
Angels-Red Sox 3
|
TBSC
|
1170
|
|
10
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1164
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
2149
|
TBSC
|
886
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1509
|
ESPN
|
697
|
|
3
|
USA
|
1353
|
NAN
*
|
675
|
|
4
|
CNN
|
949
|
USA
|
636
|
|
5
|
FOXN
|
812
|
TNT
|
552
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
746
|
ADSM*
|
514
|
|
7
|
FX
|
729
|
NICK
|
514
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
662
|
LIF
|
464
|
|
9
|
CMDY
|
657
|
FX
|
391
|
|
10
|
SCIF
|
630
|
CMDY
|
370
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Ravens/Steelers
|
ESPN
|
6548
|
|
2
|
SR/Vice Pres Debate 2008
|
CNN
|
5616
|
|
3
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
4129
|
|
4
|
VP Debate
|
FOXN
|
3113
|
|
5
|
On The Record W/Greta
|
FOXN
|
2886
|
|
6
|
Angels-Red Sox 3
|
TBSC
|
2762
|
|
7
|
Project Runway
|
BRAV
|
2739
|
|
8
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2616
|
|
9
|
Red Sox-Angels 2
|
TBSC
|
2500
|
|
10
|
Dodgers-Cubs 1
|
TBSC
|
2486
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending October 5 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
2273
|
TBSC
|
866
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
1547
|
ESPN
|
633
|
|
3
|
USA
|
1292
|
USA
|
629
|
|
4
|
FOXN
|
1027
|
TNT
|
558
|
|
5
|
CNN
|
936
|
NAN
*
|
534
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
780
|
LIF
|
459
|
|
7
|
SCIF
|
734
|
FOXN
|
436
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
678
|
NICK
|
417
|
|
9
|
FX
|
641
|
CNN
|
402
|
|
10
|
MSNB
|
634
|
AEN
|
362
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending October 5 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Ravens/Steelers
|
ESPN
|
6529
|
|
2
|
SR/Vice Pres Debate 2008
|
CNN
|
4522
|
|
3
|
VP Debate
|
FOXN
|
3751
|
|
4
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
3599
|
|
5
|
On The Record W/Greta
|
FOXN
|
3332
|
|
6
|
Angels-Red Sox 3
|
TBSC
|
3018
|
|
7
|
Red Sox-Angels 2
|
TBSC
|
2730
|
|
8
|
Dodgers-Cubs 1
|
TBSC
|
2635
|
|
9
|
Project Runway
|
BRAV
|
2504
|
|
10
|
Cubs-Dodgers 3
|
TBSC
|
2503
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
