Game 1 of the World Series got off to a bumpy start in the ratings.
The Phillies’ Game 1 win over the Rays drew a 9.2/15 final rating and 14.6 million viewers on FOX Wednesday night, down 12% and 14%, respectively, from a 10.5 with 16.9 million for last year’s Game 1 between the Rockies and Red Sox.
The 9.2 rating is the third-lowest ever for a World Series game, behind only Game 3 last year and Game 1 in 2006. Phillies/Rays Game 1 is also the lowest rated World Series game ever that did not take place on a Saturday night, the lowest rated night of the week.
To put the numbers in perspective, the 9.2 rating is off slightly from the 9.3 for the first nine innings of July’s MLB All Star Game, but is higher than the 8.7 for Game 1 of June’s NBA Finals, the 8.6 for the final round of The Masters in April, and the ratings for three of the five BCS games in January.
Lowest rated World Series games.
8.0: Cardinals/Tigers Game 1 (Sat., 10/21/06, 8 PM FOX)
8.5: Red Sox/Rockies Game 3 (Sat., 10/24/07, 8 PM FOX)
9.2: Phillies/Rays Game 1 (Wed., 10/22/08, 8 PM FOX)
9.4: Giants/Angels Game 1 (Sat., 10/19/02, 8 PM FOX)
9.5: Astros/White Sox Game 1 (Sat., 10/22/05, 8 PM FOX)
