Despite facing its toughest competition yet from the NFL, the World Series ended with a 12-year viewership high on Sunday.
Game 5 of the Royals/Mets World Series had a 10.0 rating and 17.2 million viewers on FOX Sunday night, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 37% in ratings and 36% in viewership from Royals/Giants last year (7.3, 12.6M) and up 12% and 19%, respectively, from Red Sox/Cardinals on a Monday night in 2013 (8.9, 14.4M). Fox Deportes added 296,000, bringing the combined total to approximately 17.5 million.
The Royals’ championship-clinching win, which peaked at 19.4 million viewers from 11:30-11:45 PM ET, ranks as the highest rated Game 5 of the World Series since Yankees/Phillies in 2009 (10.6) and the most-watched since Yankees/Marlins in 2003 (19.9). It also ranks as the highest rated and most-watched Sunday night World Series game since Yankees/Phillies Game 4 in 2009 (13.5, 22.8M) and the top game opposite NFL Sunday Night Football since Giants/Angels Game 7 in 2002 (17.9, 30.8M).
Among adults 18-49, Sunday’s game drew a 5.1 rating — up 55% from last year (3.3), up 24% from 2013 (4.1) and the highest Game 5 mark since 2009 (5.3).
Even with the strong numbers, Royals/Mets still trailed NBC’s Packers/Broncos Sunday Night Football game — a much-hyped battle of unbeatens — in ratings (13.0 to 10.0), viewership (23.0M to 17.2M) and the adults 18-49 demographic (8.2 to 5.1). In the six years when the World Series has faced NBC’s Sunday Night Football (as opposed to the lower rated ESPN version of a previous era), it has lost the head-to-head matchup all but once.
As previously noted, home markets Kansas City and New York delivered a 60.0 and 25.5, respectively, for Sunday’s game. St. Louis was the top neutral market with a 20.4, followed with Hartford (15.3), Tulsa (14.7), Portland (13.8) and Phoenix (13.7) rounding out the top five.
The World Series completed an unusually strong run for the National League playoffs. Every single postseason game involving an N.L. team had an increase in ratings and viewership, excluding Mets/Dodgers Game 5 in the Division Series — which could not be compared to last year.
(Sun. numbers from Fox Sports)
