The fifth game of the World Series attracted decent enough numbers, though on par with the record-low levels of previous years.
Game 5 of the Red Sox/Cardinals World Series drew a 10.0 overnight on FOX Monday night, even with Cardinals/Rangers Game 5 in 2011 (10.0), and down 6% from the clinching Giants/Rangers Game 5 in 2010 (10.6).
The 10.0 is tied as the lowest ever for a Game 5 of the World Series, matching 2011, and likely ensures a fifth-straight single-digit final rating.
Though the numbers have not necessarily been bad — the series averaged a healthy 14.0 million viewers through four games — Red Sox/Cardinals has continued to trend toward record-lows. The series has included the third-lowest Game 1 overnight in World Series history (9.4), the third-lowest Game 2 overnight (9.5), the fifth-lowest Game 3 overnight (8.7), the third-lowest Game 4 overnight (10.5), and now the lowest Game 5 overnight.
Despite the relatively low numbers, the World Series easily topped NFL competition on Monday night — beating the Seahawks/Rams game on ESPN by 32% (10.0 to 7.6). The previous night, Game 4 topped the Packers/Vikings game on NBC by 6% (10.5 to 9.9).
Locally, Game 5 drew a 43.8 rating in St. Louis — down 7% from Cardinals/Rangers Game 5 in 2011 (46.9), and down 15% from the clinching Tigers/Cardinals Game 5 in 2006 (51.7). Keep in mind the Cardinals game had to compete with the Rams head-to-head.
In Boston, Game 5 had a 38.5 rating.
(Game 5 numbers from MLB_PR verified Twitter account [1], [2])
