More than 5 million viewers tuned into TBS last night to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago Cubs to win baseball's National League Championship Series, according to Nielsen.

TBS' game five NLCS coverage -- in which the Dodgers defeated the Cubs 11-1 to secure a trip to the World Series -- generated 5.2 million viewers, up 84% over game five of the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays-Cleveland Indians American League Championship series, according to TBS.

The game also drew more than 6.5 million Twitter and Facebook interactions across 2.5 million unique social media accounts, according to Nielsen.

Overall, the Dodgers-Cubs series averaged 6.2 million viewers, up 88% over TBS’ Jays-Indians coverage, according to the network.

While the audience for Game 2 of TBS’ New York Mets-Chicago Cubs National League Championship Series fell short of the series’ opener, the network is still on a record-setting MLB playoffs viewership pace.

The game, which the Mets won 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series, averaged 6.6 million viewers against stiff competition from NBC’s New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts Sunday Night Football telecast. The NLCS Game 2 telecast was down from the 7.9 million Game 1 of the series garnered Saturday, according to Nielsen.

TBS is averaging 7.2 million viewers through two games, up 53% over its 2013 coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals-Los Angeles Dodgers NLDS series, and up 41% over last year’s ALDS series between the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles, according to TBS.  

Overall, TBS is averaging 5.9 viewers for its 2015 MLB playoffs coverage, up 40% over last year’s coverage to rank as the network’s most-viewed postseason coverage to date.  

The Giants won the pennant and Fox Sports 1 matched its all-time ratings mark on Thursday night.

Evoking Bobby Thomson 63 years earlier, Travis Ishikawa (pictured) crashed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to move the Giants into the World Series versus the Kansas City Royals, as FS1 averaged a 3.1 U.S. household rating with its coverage of National League Championship Game 5. The Oct. 16 performance tied the mark the channel set the night before with the fourth contest between San Francisco and St. Louis.

Thursday night's telecast averaged 4.89 million viewers to rank second on the network's all-time Nilesen list behind the 5.09 million watchers for Game 4. FSI bowed on Aug. 17, 2013.

With its leading five and seven of its top 10 shows hailing from its first Major League Baseball postseason, FS1 has been the fastest-growing network since the start of the 2014-15 TV seasons, according to network executives. 

Viewership built every half hour during the Oct. 16 telecast, which faced the CBS/NFL Network simulcast of Thursday Night Football, peaking with 6.52 million viewers from 11:00-11:14 PM (ET) when Ishikawa turned the clock back to 1951 --Thomson's three-run shot heard round the world eliminated Dem Bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers--  as his bomb sent the Cardinals home, ticketing the Giants' 20th World Series appearance. The peak audience for Game 5 marked a new 2014 postseason high, breaking the record set in Game 4, when 6.08 million watched in the 10:30 p.m. half hour. 

St. Louis led all markets with a 25.2,, followed by San Francisco at an 18.8, both FS 1 records in those DMAs.  Sacramento was third (13.7), followed by Kansas City, home of the American League Champion Kansas City Royals (9.4).

Fox Deportes also delivered big,  tallying 199,000 viewers, including 108,000 persons 18 to 49,  the highest audience delivery for a Game 5 in Spanish-language television history. Viewership peaked from 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. with 265,000 total viewers.

Buoyed by NLCS Game 5, Fox Sports Go rang up its fourth-best authenticated streaming day, according to FSI executives, who noted digital viewership of NLCS Game 5 was strongest in San Francisco, followed by San Jose, Los Angeles and St. Louis.

Game 1 of the 2014 World Series is scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Royals' Kauffman Stadium.  Coverage begins with a special 90-minute edition of America's Pregame on FS1, followed by the World Series Pregame Show on Fox at 7  p.m. and Game 1 at 8 p.m. on the broadcaster.

The Baltimore Orioles are on the wrong end of the score line, but TBS continues to register Nielsen success with its coverage of the American League Championship Series.

TBS scored a 3.8 U.S. household rating that translated into 6 million viewers on average with its Oct. 14 telecast of Game 3 during which the Kansas City Royals, continuing their defensive wizadry this time courtesy of Mike Moustakas (pictured), pushed the O's to the edge of extinction with their 2-1 triumph.

The deliveries marked a 23% ratings rise from the 3.1 for the corresponding game of the 2013  National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers, while the audience grew 25% from the 4.8 million, according to Nielsen data.

Tuesday night’s ALCS Game 3 peaked with a 4.5 rating and 7.19 million viewers in the 10:15 p.m. (ET) quarter hour. Based on metered market ratings, TBS's LACS coverage gave it the night across all of cable television.

Through the three Royals wins, TBS has averaged a 3.3 rating and 5.35 million viewers, up 6% and 13%, respectively from the 3.1 and 4.75 million for Cards-Dodgers a year ago.

The battle of mid-sized market teams -- KC is 31st, while the Baltimore DMA ranks 26th among Nielsen's metered markets -- continues on Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. with the O's looking to stave off elimination.

§  TBS’ exclusive coverage of the ALCS is averaging 5,349,000 total viewers through three games, up 13% over an average of 4,746,000 total viewers for the network’s comparable LCS game telecasts last year (Dodgers/Cardinals).  This year’s corresponding 3.3 U.S. HH rating is up 6% over a 3.1 U.S. HH rating to date in 2013. Additionally, the 2014 ALCS is driving growth across all key demos including an 11% increase in People 18-49 vs. 2013. 

TBS’s exclusive coverage of the American League Championship Series Game 3 between the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals delivered an average of 6.0 million total viewers, up 25% over the network’s comparable LCS telecast last year (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis – 4.8 million total viewers).  This year’s corresponding 3.8 U.S. HH rating is up 23% over a 3.1 U.S. HH rating in 2013.

·      Kansas City and Baltimore represent the two smallest combined market sizes in ALCS history.

·      Kansas City ranks 31st among the 56 metered markets, last among all A.L. teams with 923,000 households. Baltimore ranks 26th among the metered markets and 14th in the America League, only slightly ahead of the Royals.

·      This year’s market sizes for the ALCS are 70% smaller than the network’s comparable coverage of the 2013 NLCS (Los Angeles vs. St. Louis) based on available television households — 2,015,910 vs. 6,750,660.

·      L.A. alone is nearly triple the size of the combined markets this year (5,523,800 vs. 2,015,910) or 63% larger when compared with 2014.

Last night’s ALCS Game 3 peaked with a 4.5 U.S. HH rating and 7,187,000 total viewers from 10:15-10:30 p.m. ET.  Based on metered market ratings, TBS won the night across all of cable television.

Fox Sports 1 is pitching a sabermetrical approach to its telecast of Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday night.

The first game of the NLCS with the San Francisco Giants visiting the defending senior circuit champion St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. (ET) will see FSI supplement Fox Broadcast Network’s traditional telecast, with a more analytical-viewing experience.

The cable network’s presentation under the JABO (Just a Bit Outside) banner, will emphasize statistics, sabermetrics and graphics, with numbers aimed at inspiring debate and conversation among host Kevin Burkharrdt; FS1 analysts and JABO contributors, Gabe Kapler and C.J. Nitkowski; Rob Neyer, FoxSports.com’s senior baseball editor; and San Diego Padres manager Bud Black.

The multicast will be complemented by a live interactive chat on social media via the handle @MLBONFOX. Fans can follow the conversation using the hashtag #JABO.  JustaBitOutside.com will also feature live blogging and video clips of analysis during the game.     

“During the game, our panel will provide insight from every level of baseball, as well as real-time demos, extended replays, and breakdowns of storylines from Game 1,” said Neyer. “Perched atop a bedrock of data supplied by our various partners, we’ll analyze batter/pitcher match-ups, umpiring tendencies, defensive shifts, controversial calls, and the debatable managerial moves that seem to be the talk of nearly every game in October.”

Fans can also watch the traditional broadcast on Fox or the Spanish-language telecast on Fox Deportes.  All NLCS Game 1 telecasts will be available through FOX Sports Go, the app that provides live streaming video of Fox Sports content at home or on-the-go.