World Series Game 1 Jumps 20 Percent From Mets-Royals in Early TV Ratings
Cleveland certainly rocks — at least, for World Series TV ratings thus far.
Game 1 of the 2016 Fall Classic on Fox rose 20 percent above last year’s version, per Nielsen overnight numbers. It was 58 percent better than 2014’s slow start.
Tuesday’s kickoff to the best-of-seven Major League Baseball finale earned a strong 12.6 rating/21 share, according to the very early metric. For comparison, New York Mets-Kansas City Royals in 2015 had a 10.5/18, while 2014’s San Francisco Giants-Royals got a 8.0/13. Final numbers will be out later today, and should be considered more accurate.
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Last night, the Cleveland Indians shut out the Chicago Cubs, 6-0, going up 1-0 for the series. Game 2, which will also take place in Cleveland, is tonight at 7 p.m. ET on Fox.
There is plenty of extra incentive this year for the two rabid fanbases to tune in and root their squads on. Famously, the Cubs haven’t won a World Series in 108 years. It’s been 68 years for the Indians — so there’s a bit of a drought there, too.
Cleveland had been desperate for decades for a major sports title, until LeBron James and the Cavaliers delivered an NBA trophy this June.
Before that, the long-suffering Ohio city hadn’t won a big one since 1964, when the Browns defeated the then-Baltimore Colts. That was so long ago that the Super Bowl wouldn’t technically exist for two more years.
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