Dodgers’ NLCS Game 7 Clincher A Home Run For FS1 Ratings

The Los Angeles Dodgers World Series ticket-punching 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series outslugged all others on TV on Saturday, scoring a 4.9 overnight rating on Fox Sports 1.

The game — highlighted by stellar pitching from rookie starter Walker Buehler, homers by Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig, and a ninth-inning close by Clayton Kershaw — ended up being the highest-rated cable broadcast of any MLB game in Los Angeles since 1998, Fox Sports says. It drew a 15.9 metered market rating in L.A., easily best ever for an FS1 broadcast.

It’s a major showing for the L.A. market, where only Spectrum carries the Dodgers’ regular-season games as part of a years-long rights-fee fight with the likes of DirecTV, leaving many in the city without a way to watch the team unless they make the playoffs. The game also overlapped with the Los Angeles Lakers’ home opener last night, a fight-marred loss to the Houston Rockets that also scored strong ratings via ESPN.

Saturday’s Game 7 was up 26% overall early numbers from the Dodgers’ NLCS clincher last year, when they eliminated the Chicago Cubs in five games. In the L.A. market, last night’s Game 7 was up 20%.

The victory means the Dodgers return to the World Series for a second year in a row. They face the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Fox has rights to the series.