NLCS clincher was Braves’ most-watched telecast in Atlanta in 16 years

Braves players celebrate their 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Truist Park on Saturday.  (Curtis Compton / curtis.compton@ajc.com)

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Braves players celebrate their 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Truist Park on Saturday. (Curtis Compton / curtis.compton@ajc.com)

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.