MLB playoff TV ratings steady with LCS matchups
MLB’s league championship series are producing solid ratings after seeing declines during the first two rounds.
According to Nielsen, the LCS English and Spanish broadcasts for the first two games are averaging 5.2 million, which is even with last year.
The LCS ratings are holding steady despite not having a team from New York, Chicago or Los Angeles — the country’s three largest TV markets — in the round for the first time since 2014. The teams with the five best regular-season records are also watching from home.
“I do believe variety is a good thing for our sports. You look at other sports, they have the same mix,” commissioner Rob Manfred said on ESPN’s “First Take” before the postseason. “We have 30 markets. Everyone has to have a chance to compete.”
Texas‘ 2-0 victory over Houston in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 15 averaged 7.27 million on Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming. That was the most viewed opening game of the ALCS since 2010 when the Rangers faced the New York Yankees and averaged 8.11 million. It also marked a 28% increase from last year’s first game between the Astros and Yankees.
Last Sunday’s game benefited from a strong lead-in with Fox having an NFL doubleheader. The late afternoon window on Fox averaged 26.09 million, including the New York Jets‘ upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
The early numbers are good news after the wild-card round on ESPN and ABC was down 18% from last year. The division series on TBS, Fox and FS1 were off 8.8%.
The wild-card games saw declines because they took place during the middle of the week instead of the weekend, like last year.
This year’s division round featured no series that went the full five games and had two sweeps. This year’s run differential was 3.85 per game compared to last year’s 2.5.
However, the Philadelphia Phillies making the National League Championship Series for the second straight year helped bolster ratings. The Phillies-Atlanta Braves series averaged 4.6 million viewers, making it the most watched NLDS on TBS in eight years.
The Phillies’ 10-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Tuesday’s second game of the NLCS averaged 5.3 million on TBS, TruTV and Max.
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Max Olson
San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero, the leading receiver in FBS this season, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens in January, he announced Friday.
The 5-foot-9, 174-pound redshirt sophomore caught 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Spartans, becoming a semifinal for the Biletnikoff Award and earning first-team All-Mountain West honors.
Scudero is expected to be one of the more coveted wide receivers available when the transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2 and has two more seasons of eligibility remaining.
Scudero spent two years at Sacramento State before transferring to San Jose State after the 2024 season. He broke out with 189 receiving yards to open the season against Central Michigan and surpassed 100 yards in five more games, including a career-high 215 and two touchdowns against Hawaii.
Scudero’s 88 receptions ranked fourth-most in FBS, and he leads all receivers this season with 16 catches of 30 or more yards.
The Spartans produced the No. 14 passing offense in FBS this season but went 3-9 in their second year under coach Ken Niumatalolo.
North Carolina offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will not return next season, with the school announcing the departure of both assistants after a 4-8 season in Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut.
“We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in a statement. “We wish them both nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”
North Carolina’s offense was one of the worst in the country, ranking 119th in the FBS in scoring (19.3 PPG) and 129th in total offense (288.8 YPG).
The Tar Heels had special teams issues coming down the stretch too, notably with Duke running a fake field goal to set up a late winning touchdown and NC State successfully running a fake punt for a first down the following week.
Kitchens, who served as Cleveland Browns coach in 2019, had been with the Tar Heels since 2023 and was the interim coach for their Fenway Bowl loss at the end of the 2024 season. Belichick was hired as the new head coach earlier that month.
Priefer was a longtime NFL special teams coach who followed Belichick to Chapel Hill but lasted just one season on the job.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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