In a fall that has already seen historically low ratings for the NBA, NHL, Triple Crown and more, it appears that Major League Baseball is the next in line.

Monday’s Game 2 of the MLB American League Championship Series (Astros-Rays) averaged 1.88 million viewers on TBS, marking the least-watched LCS game on record, regardless of league or network. The previous low was set less than 24 hours earlier by Game 1 of the same series, which averaged a 1.1 rating and 2.07 million viewers on Sunday night.

Prior to this year, the least-watched LCS game was Royals-Blue Jays Game 5 on FS1 in 2015 (2.58M). [Related: MLB LCS ratings history.]

Viewership for both games sank 66% from Games 1 and 2 of last year’s Yankees-Astros series, which averaged 6.11 million on FOX and 5.59 million on FS1, respectively.

It should be noted that Game 1 aired on a night of unprecedented sports competition, facing both NBC’s Sunday Night Football (Vikings-Seahawks: 8.4, 15.08M) and the clinching Game 6 of the NBA Finals on ABC (4.2, 8.29M).

To put the numbers in perspective, no game of the recently completed NBA conference finals averaged fewer than 3.17 million (Nuggets-Lakers Game 2 on an NFL Sunday).

The NLCS fared much better despite opening against Monday Night Football. Braves-Dodgers Game 1 averaged 4.20 million viewers on FOX Monday, down just 10% from last year’s NLCS Game 1 on TBS (4.65M) and the most-watched game of the 2020 season. The previous high was 4.10 million for the Yankees-Nationals season opener in July.

As one would expect, Atlanta’s win was trounced by the competing Chargers-Saints matchup on ESPN (10.69M). It was the least-watched LCS game on broadcast since Giants-Cardinals Game 3 in 2012, a day game that averaged 3.90 million.

Going back to the Division Series, Friday’s Yankees-Rays Game 5 averaged a 2.1 rating and 3.72 million viewers on TBS — down a tick in ratings but up 2% in viewership from last year’s ALDS Game 5, Rays-Astros on a Thursday night (2.2, 3.67M). This year’s game faced Game 5 of the NBA Finals and last year’s game faced Thursday Night Football.

Tampa Bay’s win ranks second for the playoffs and third for the season.

[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 10.13 a, b]