The Toronto Blue Jays’ saved their best audience for last.
Game 6 of the American League Championship Series delivered the largest audience in Sportsnet history, according to preliminary numbers from Numeris, with an average of 5.12 million people tuning in as Toronto fell 4-3 to the Kansas City Royals.
More than 12 million people – nearly 1 in 3 Canadians – watched at least some part of the elimination game.
Toronto’s post-season run provided the top 10 most-watched programs in Sportsnet history, with Game 6 of the ALCS edging out Game 5 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers (4.88 million) to become the most-watched telecast.
The six-game series with the Royals delivered an average audience of 3.8 million, a 717% increase over the 2014 ALCS between Baltimore and Kansas City, which attracted an average audience of 466,000.
Friday’s Game 6 audience peaked at 7.01 million viewers at 10:59 p.m., with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at bat in the top of the eighth following Jose Bautista’s game-tying homer. An average audience of 4 million continued watching Sportsnet during the subsequent 42-minute rain delay.
An estimated 16.8 million Canadians watched at least part of the ALCS, with 19.6 million people tuning into at least one of the Jays’ 11 post-season games. The total reach for all post-season games on Sportsnet is 20.8 million.
