The Big Lead

Fox delivers shocking NLDS ratings, more likely to come

By J.P. Hoornstra

Jul 20, 2024; Cooperstown, New York, USA; Hall of Fame member John Smoltz arrives at the National Baseball Hall of Fame during the Parade of Legends in Cooperstown, NY.
Jul 20, 2024; Cooperstown, New York, USA; Hall of Fame member John Smoltz arrives at the National Baseball Hall of Fame during the Parade of Legends in Cooperstown, NY. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
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Fox Sports' broadcast of Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres was a popular draw for television viewers, capping a terrific round of ratings for the network.

Friday’s Padres-Dodgers NLDS Game 5 averaged 7.24 million viewers on Fox (7.5 million including Fox Deportes and streaming). It was the largest audience for an LDS game since Yankees-Indians Game 5 on FS1 in 2017 (7.26 million) and the largest NLDS audience since Mets-Dodgers Game 5 on TBS in 2015 (7.38 million).

Overall, the network reported an average just north of 4 million viewers for the nine NLDS games between the five-game Padres-Dodgers series, and the four-game Mets-Phillies series. That made it the most-watched LDS round on any network since 2015.

The ratings story was foretold early in the NLDS, when its first four games attracted more viewers than in any comparable LDS round since FS1 began showing postseason baseball in 2014. As we noted then, a variety of reasons help explain the ratings surge:

• Intradivisional rivalries, whose fans were already primed to hate the other team
• Optimized start times, since both series featured two teams in the same time zone
• Stars on the field, including the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (the NL MVP favorite), the Mets' Francisco Lindor (the probable MVP runner-up), and the Phillies' Bryce Harper (a two-time MVP and one of the most recognizable faces in the sport).

The Mets were a predictably strong ratings driver. They play in the nation's largest media market, and hadn't reached the NLDS since 2015, when they got to the World Series. The Dodgers play in the second-largest media market.

For that reason, expect the ratings successes for Fox to continue into the NLCS.

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