As is no surprise given the weak turnout for Friday’s thrilling Game 1, Saturday’s blowout Game 2 of the World Series hit record lows in ratings and viewership.
Game 2 of the World Series (Diamondbacks-Rangers) averaged a 4.0 rating and 8.15 million viewers on FOX Saturday night (8.38M including Fox Deportes), marking the lowest rated and least-watched World Series game on record. The previous lows were set by Dodgers-Rays Game 3 in the 2020 “bubble,” which averaged a 4.3 and 8.34 million (8.63M including Fox Deportes).
Two games in, the Diamondbacks-Rangers series already accounts for two of the three smallest audiences in World Series history. Game 1 on Friday averaged a 4.6 and 9.17 million.
Arizona’s blowout win declined 24% in ratings and viewership from last year’s Phillies-Astros Game 2 (5.3, 10.79M).
Despite the sizable decline and record-low, Game 2 was still the top sporting event of the day — topping the Georgia-Florida college football game on CBS earlier in the day (3.0, 5.95M). The college football competition was nonetheless stiff, as Ohio State-Wisconsin on NBC (2.6, 4.87M) and Colorado-UCLA on ABC (2.6, 4.66M) combined to average 9.53 million in the competing Saturday night window.
Game 2 averaged a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49, a mere 1.1 in 18-34 and a 2.0 in 25-54, all-time lows for the World Series in each demographic. Compared to Game 2 last year, ratings declined 36, 38 and 34 percent respectively.
