The World Series got off to a better start in the ratings, though the numbers remain on the lower end of the historical scale.
Game 1 of the World Series (Phillies-Astros) averaged 11.48 million viewers on FOX Friday night (11.68M across all platforms), up 5% from Braves-Astros last year (10.93M) and the most-watched Game 1 since Nationals-Astros in 2019 (12.19M). Keep in mind the only other Game 1 over that span was the neutral-site Rays-Dodgers two years ago, which opened at an all-time low 9.35 million. Ratings were not immediately available.
Philadelphia’s win posted the fourth-largest Major League Baseball audience since the wave of cancellations and postponements that altered the industry more than two years ago, ranking behind only Games 5 and 6 of last year’s Fall Classic (13.82 and 14.14 million respectively) and Game 6 two years ago (12.82M).
Going back further, the comparisons are less flattering. This year’s Game 1 audience is the third-lowest all-time ahead of only the past two years. For a full list of World Series ratings over the past 50 years, see the following page.
Viewership was almost identical to last year’s Friday night World Series telecast (Game 3), which averaged 11.47 million. This year’s Fall Classic is starting later than usual due to the owners’ offseason lockout of players and is the first to begin on a Friday since 1990, the previous lockout year. Friday has long been known as a poor night for television ratings (earning the moniker the “Friday Night Death Slot”), but in the age of out-of-home viewing may no longer be a ratings drag.
Perhaps owing to the Friday out-of-home effect, Game 1 posted a whopping 36% increase in adults 18-34, rising from last year’s 1.60 (pending revision) to a 2.18. The increase in 18-34 far exceeded that of adults 18-49 (2.52 to 2.85, +13%) and 25-54 (3.21 to 3.43, +7%).
Compared to the NBA Finals, Friday’s audience was not far off the 11.9 million who watched Celtics-Warriors Game 1 on ABC and ESPN2 in June. As one would expect, the NBA was a far stronger draw in the young demographics (3.8 in 18-49, 3.0 in 18-34 and 4.2 in 25-54).
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 10.31)
