With Cubs in contention, NLCS soars

When the Chicago Cubs qualified for the Major League Baseball playoffs for the first time in seven years, the networks carrying the postseason celebrated.

They knew ratings would soar for the Cubs, baseball’s most beloved loser since the Boston Red Sox tossed off the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 to win the World Series.

And they were right.

The National League Championship Series between the Cubs and New York Mets is posting the best viewership ever on TBS.

The NLCS has averaged 7.2 million total viewers through game two, which was played Sunday. That’s up 53 percent over the last time TBS carried the NLCS two years ago, according to Nielsen.

It’s also up 41 percent over last year, when TBS had the American League Championship Series.

The Cubs’ presence in the postseason has helped boost overall MLB playoff ratings on TBS by 40 percent, to an average 5.9 million per game, an all-time best for the network.

There’s no question the Cubs are responsible for much of the boost. They have famously not won a World Series since 1908, and even non-Cubs fans find themselves rooting for the squad, in much the same way people pulled for the Red Sox before they broke the curse.

This year there’s some added intrigue, which has become a big deal on the internet. Nearly three decades ago, the movie “Back to the Future 2” depicted the Cubs winning the World Series in 2015, and people have been abuzz over the chance of the movie’s prophecy coming true.

Of course, the Mets have also spurred interest in the NLCS too. Though they’re not as popular as the crosstown Yankees, the Mets do hail from the country’s No. 2 TV market.

Alas for Fox, which has rights to the World Series, the Cubs’ chances of advancing don’t look good. The squad is trailing in the best-of-seven series.

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In cable ratings for the week ended Oct 18:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TBS, ESPN, AMC, CNN, USA.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TBS, ESPN, CNN, Disney Channel, Fox News Channel.

Top five total-day networks (total viewers): TBS, ESPN, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Adult Swim.

Top cable news networks in primetime (total viewers): CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, HLN, FBN, Al Jazeera America.

Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1. CNN’s “Nevada Dem Debate” (Tuesday, 9 p.m.); 2. CNN’s “Nevada Dem Debate” (Tuesday, 8:37 p.m.); 3 CNN’s “Nevada Dem Debate” (Tuesday, 10:49 p.m.); 4. CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.); 5. CNN’s “AC360 Post Debate Special” (Tuesday, 11:02 p.m.)

Top movie (total viewers): Hallmark Channel’s “October Kiss,” (Saturday, 9 p.m.) 2.59 million.

Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Pittsburgh/San Diego” (Monday, 8:15 p.m.) 12.18 million.

Show on the rise: Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” Thursday, 9 p.m. The long-running reality show averaged 2.34 million total viewers, up 8 percent from the previous week’s 2.17 million.

Show on the decline: AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” Sunday, 9 p.m. The hit drama averaged a very good 12.2 million total viewers, but that was off 17 percent from 14.63 million the previous week for the season premiere.

Tags: baseball, cubs, mlb, mlb playoffs, mlb postseason, playoffs, sports tv