FS1 Scores Most-Watched Telecast in Network History With ALCS Game 7

Joe Buck and John Smoltz (Photo courtesy of FOX Sports)
Joe Buck and John Smoltz (Photo courtesy of FOX Sports)

LOS ANGELES – The Houston Astros’ 4-0 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series from Minute Maid Park in Houston Saturday night scored more than 10.5 million viewers across FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports Go. It was the most-watched telecast in FS1 history, with an average of 9,924,000 viewers, and most-watched ALCS game in FOX Deportes history, peaking at 583,000 total viewers from 9:45 PM – 10:00 PM ET, according to Nielsen Media Research.

“As we approach our 20th World Series this week, the strength of the relationship between Major League Baseball and FOX Sports – both at the national and regional levels – continues to be a cornerstone for our sports portfolio,” said FOX Sports President & Executive Producer Eric Shanks. “Hitting the 10-million-plus viewer mark last night and setting viewership records across multiple platforms strongly reinforces the connection.”

The game, which peaked at 11,758,000 viewers on FS1 from 11:00 to 11:15 PM ET, also set marks for FOX Deportes and FOX Sports GO streaming. ALCS Game 7 was the most-watched MLB League Championship Series game in FOX Deportes history with 445,000 viewers, and second-most watched MLB telecast overall, behind Game 7 of last year’s World Series (565,000). FSGO, with an average-minute streaming audience of 152,748, set the record for its best LCS game in platform history.

Overall, across all networks, the MLB postseason currently is the most-watched since 2011, averaging 4,763,000 viewers. Postseason coverage continues Tuesday, with FOX Sports broadcasting its 20th World Series presented by YouTube TV, beginning at 7:30 PM ET on the FOX broadcast network and FOX Deportes.

A look at ALCS Game 7 by the numbers:

  • Most-watched LCS telecast on any network since 2010 (10/23/10 San Francisco-Philadelphia on FOX, 11,639,000).
  • Third-most-watched MLB telecast of any kind on cable behind the New York Yankees-Texas Rangers Game 6 in 2010 (11,863,000) and Boston-Tampa Game 7 in 2008 (13,357,000).
  • +22% versus the previous LCS Game 7 (8,108,000) for St. Louis – San Francisco on FOX on a Monday night in 2012.
  • The ALCS had its best performance since 2013, averaging 6,517,000 viewers across FOX and FS1.  Additionally, it is up 95% over 2016 (3,340,000), which ended in five games.
  • Following FS1’s first-ever LCS Game 7, postseason to date, FS1/FOX is averaging 5.1 million viewers, virtually flat with last year’s NLCS and the Cubs’ historic run.
  • The seven-game series was the most watched ALCS in FOX Deportes history, averaging 236,000 total viewers, more than double 2015’s six-game ALCS between the Blue Jays and the Royals.

SOURCE: FOX Sports Release