A close game more than made up for the “Friday Night Death Slot.”
Game 3 of the Indians/Cubs World Series had a 12.4 overnight rating on FOX Friday night, up 36% from Royals/Mets last year (9.1), up 53% from Royals/Giants in 2014 (8.1), and the highest overnight for Game 3 of the Fall Classic since White Sox/Astros on a Tuesday night in 2005 (13.1). Keep in mind that since 2007, Game 3 has taken place on a Friday or Saturday night, the two lowest rated nights of the week.
All three games of the series have hit a multi-year high in the overnights, with Games 1 and 2 both the highest rated in the metered markets since 2009.
The 12.4 is also the fourth-highest for any game of the World Series in the past five years, behind Cardinals/Red Sox Game 5 in 2013 (12.5), Game 1 of this year’s series (12.6) and Game 7 of Giants/Royals in 2014 (15.2).
Compared to other Friday night sporting events, Indians/Cubs topped Game 4 of this year’s NBA Finals, which had a 12.0 on the night. The Opening Ceremony of the Olympics had a 16.5 on NBC, though that is not the fairest comparison (and its status as a ‘sporting event’ is marginal).
Cleveland’s win peaked at a 15.7 rating after 11:30 PM ET, the latest peak for any game of the series. Game 1 peaked from 9:30-9:45 PM and Game 2, which started earlier to avoid rain, from 9:15-9:30.
Locally, Game 3 earned a 39.2 in Cleveland — off 21% from Marlins/Indians back in 1997 (49.6). Compared to the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, the 39.2 topped Game 3 this year (36.7) and in 2007 (32.9) but trailed 2015 (49.0). Chicago turned in a 35.1 rating, down 10% from White Sox/Astros in 2005 (38.9).
(Fri. numbers from Fox Sports)
