Ratings for the Red Sox/Rockies World Series are trending at or below the level set by last year’s record-low Tigers/Cardinals series.
Game 1 of the World Series drew a 10.5 rating and 16.9 million viewers on Wednesday night. Compared to 2006, the 10.5 rating for Game 1 was a 31% increase over the 8.0 rating for Game 1 of Tigers/Cardinals. However, Tigers/Cardinals aired on a Saturday night, the least watched-night of the week. The 10.5 rating was the fourth lowest ever for a World Series game not on a Friday or Saturday, ahead of Games 3 and 4 of the 2006 World Series and Game 5 of the 2002 World Series.
Thursday’s Game 2 continued the trend of mediocre ratings, as preliminary numbers indicate the game drew 15.6 million viewers. If that number holds, the 15.6 million viewers would mark a 14% drop from the 18.2 million viewers for Game 2 of Tigers/Cardinals, which aired on a Sunday night. Compared to the game on the comparable night last year, the 15.6 would mark a 3% drop from the 16.1 million viewers for Game 4 of Tigers/Cardinals.
With the numbers for Red Sox/Rockies so close to the record-low numbers from last year, Major League Baseball has to be worried about a quick series. Game 3 on Saturday night will likely draw less than a 10.0 rating, as no Saturday night World Series game has drawn a double-digit rating since Game 1 of the 2004 World Series. Should the Red Sox take a 3-0 lead on Colorado, the ratings for Sunday night’s Game 4 may be hard pressed to break 11.0.
While it would take a sharp drop in ratings for the 2007 World Series to set an all-time record low, it may be disconcerting for Major League Baseball that despite all the scheduling changes, and despite having Boston in the World Series, there has been no real marked improvement in the ratings.
