NLCS Averaging Lower Numbers Than Stanley Cup

October 18, 2010 by Stephen M. Lepore

Baseball is sliding closer to hockey’s ratings, at least among younger viewers.

The first two games of the NLCS on FOX have averaged a 2.0 rating among Adults 18-49 after drawing a 2.2 last night, with a 1.7 for Game 1 on Saturday. This is lower than the four-game average of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC, which drew a 2.4 in the same demo. The NLCS has drawn bigger viewership numbers, but still, the difference in this demographic is interesting, and if the Yankees don’t advance to the World Series, it’ll be interesting to see if the numbers continue to be close.

To be fair, it should be noted that a dispute between Cablevision and Newscorp. has kept the World Series out of 3 million homes in the New York area.