Red Sox V. Rays Game 7 Draws Record-Breaking TV Ratings

Game seven of the closely contested American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays drew the largest ever TV audience of any MLB playoff game aired on cable, Nielsen reported Tuesday.  

The game, which aired on TBS Sunday night, drew almost 13.4 million average viewers, easily surpassing game four of last year’s Indians v. Yankees division series, which claimed second place overall with 9.2 million average viewers.

TV viewership of the ALCS games surged after the Red Sox overcame a seven-run deficit in game five to beat the Rays and stay in the series. 

Last Thursday, game five drew 7.2 million average viewers.  Game six of the series pulled in 8.9 million viewers, securing third place in Nielsen’s ranking of the all-time top MLB playoff game broadcasts on cable TV.

Rank	Top 10 MLB Playoff Games Broadcast On Cable TV	Date	Network	Viewers (P2+)
1	RED SOX-RAYS 7	10/19/2008	TBSC	13,357,000
2	INDIANS-YANKEES 4	10/8/2007	TBSC	9,232,000
3	RED SOX-RAYS 6	10/18/2008	TBSC	8,928,000
4	INDIANS-YANKEES 3	10/7/2007	TBSC	8,460,000
5	BRAVES/CUBS	10/3/2003	ESPN	8,126,000
6	YANKEES-INDIANS 2	10/5/2007	TBSC	7,578,000
7	CUBS/BRAVES	10/1/2003	ESPN	7,432,000
8	ANGELS/YANKEES	10/7/2005	ESPN	7,212,000
9	RAYS-RED SOX 5	10/16/2008	TBSC	7,211,000
10	TWINS/YANKEES	10/6/2004	ESPN	6,811,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (1996 – 2008).

View Nielsen’s full ranking of MLB playoffs ratings, dating back to 1996.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Mediaweek.