An all-Texas American League Championship Series is producing big viewership numbers.
The Texas Rangers’ 2-0 win over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the 2023 ALCS averaged 7.27 million viewers across Fox, Fox Deportes, and Fox Sports streaming platforms — making it the most-viewed ALCS Game 1 since the Rangers played the New York Yankees in 2010 (8.11M) and the most-viewed LCS Game 1 since Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets in 2015 (7.89M).
It also represented a 28% increase from 2022’s ALCS Game 1 between the Astros and Yankees.
Broken down, the linear broadcast on Fox averaged 7.02 million viewers, while the 242,000 who watched on Fox Deportes accounted for the most-watched Spanish-language telecast of an LCS Game 1 in history.
It’s a strong start to MLB’s semifinals after a less successful Wild Card round on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 that saw an 18% decline in viewership year-over-year.
The Championship Series features teams with a combined 354 regular-season wins — the lowest in MLB history — leading to some concerns about the current playoff format.
