Now that TBS' coverage of the Divisional Series has ended, I think it's safe to say they did a decent job of covering all the games. Yes, there were a few things about TBS's coverage that I wasn't a fan of. That little 9-foot marker they put over at first base to measure a runner's lead off of the bag? Yeah, that was stupid and pointless. Frank Thomas as a studio analyst left a bit to be desired, and don't even get me started on Dick Stockton and his crazy hair.Still, TBS must have been doing something right, because the ratings for this years divisional round games are better than they were last year.
Fox, like other broadcast networks, reach more than 113 million U.S. households who own TVs. Cablecaster TBS is accessible in only about 90 million households and doesn't even have the potential reach cablecaster ESPN had on its playoff coverage last year. ESPN also put its game coverage on local over-the-air TV in the cities of participating teams.
So, with less accessibility into TV households, TBS' first-round coverage would logically have lower TV ratings than the first-round coverage on Fox and ESPN last year. That was made even more likely considering that viewer interest, in any sport, usually builds the longer that playoff series last - and TBS had three of its four first-round series end in sweeps.
Funny thing, though. TBS finished its first-round games averaging 3.8% of U.S. households - up 18% from last year's first-round games on Fox and ESPN.
There are a few reasons for this bump in the ratings. The president of Turner Sports, David Levy, thinks it's because all the games were on one station, and easier to find. You know, because we're all way too stupid to figure out how to change the channels on our television.
I think the reason the ratings went up is pretty simple. TBS actually showed games at normal hours. Unlike Fox, who seems to believe it isn't postseason baseball if it starts before 8:30PM Eastern, TBS actually showed games during the day and early evening. That means games actually ended before 2AM, a novel concept I know, but a groundbreaking one at that.
Now if only they could buy Dick Stockton a comb.
