Overnight ratings for the 2008 World Series rose to series-high levels on Sunday night, but still could not compare to previous years.
FOX drew a 10.7/17 overnight rating for the Phillies’ 10-2 win over the Rays Sunday night, down 25% from a 14.3 for the series-clinching Game 4 of the 2007 World Series, and the lowest overnight rating ever for a World Series game on a Sunday. Prior to this year, the lowest overnight rating for a Sunday night World Series game came in 2006, when Game 2 of Cardinals/Tigers drew a 12.5.
The 10.7 overnight is the highest of the series so far, surpassing the 10.3 for Game 1 last Wednesday.
Compared to its competition, the World Series fared well. FOX easily won the night in prime time, beating second-place ABC by 38% in total viewers (16.05 million to 11.60 million) and 44% among adults 18-49 (5.6 to 3.9). Game 4 was the third-highest rated sporting event on Sunday, as FOX drew an 11.9/25 for the first game of its NFL doubleheader and a 15.6/30 for the late Giants/Steelers game.
Game 4 is likely to draw a final rating of less than 10.0. Last year, ratings for Game 4 of the World Series fell 12% from the overnight to the final rating. A similar drop this year would result in a final rating in the mid-9.0 range. Prior to this year, no World Series had ever drawn a rating less than 10.0 on multiple occasions.
