NLCS clincher was Braves’ most-watched telecast in Atlanta in 16 years
The Braves’ pennant-clinching win in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series was the team’s most-viewed telecast in the Atlanta TV market on any network in 16 years, according to figures provided by TBS, which televised the game.
The game -- a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday -- drew an 18.1 rating in the Atlanta market, meaning 18.1% of the households here watched on average. That translated to an audience of about 480,000 homes.
By comparison, Braves regular-season telecasts this year averaged a 2.72 rating -- about 72,000 households --in the Atlanta market.
The last Braves game to draw a larger Atlanta TV audience than Saturday’s was Game 2 of the 2005 NL Division Series between the Braves and the Houston Astros, the same franchises meeting in the 2021 World Series. Game 2 of the 2005 NLDS, the only game the Braves won in that series, featured a pitching matchup of John Smoltz vs. Roger Clemens and a three-run homer off Clemens by Braves rookie catcher Brian McCann.
Nationally, TBS said Saturday’s game between the Braves and the Dodgers averaged 6.9 million viewers, making it the most-viewed NLCS Game 6 on any network in five years. The national audience peaked at 9.3 million viewers over a 15-minute period near the end of the game.
The full Braves-Dodgers series, exclusively televised on TBS, averaged 5.2 million viewers nationally over the six games, up 88% from TBS’ corresponding coverage of the 2020 American League Championship Series through six games and up 30% from its 2019 NLCS coverage.
About the Author
Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.
