Most Watched World Series Game 1 In 7 Years; Most Shows Held Up Well Against It
UPDATE 1:50 PM: Game 1 of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians drew 19.4 million viewers in the Live+same day nationals. This was the largest audience for a Game 1 in seven years, since the opening game of the 2009 World series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, whose viewership also was rounded up to 19.4 million. In adults 18-49, last night’s game delivered a 5.6 rating to dominate the night for Fox.
In other updates, ABC’s American Housewife (1.6) went up a tenth to match its delivery from last week and once again build on its Middle lead-in by a tenth.
PREVIOUS AM: Game 1 of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians on Fox was the strong start the network surely wanted ratings-wise. Tuesday night’s opener, a 6-0 Cleveland victory that despite the score was competitive throughout, drew a 12.6 rating in the metered-market households.
That is up 20% from Game 1 of the 2015 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets and 58% from the opening game in the 2014 Series between the Royals and San Francisco Giants.
This is the best metered-market rating for Game 1 of the World Series since 2009, the last time the most famous team in baseball, the New York Yankees, made it to the championship series. They faced another top TV market team, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Tuesday’s Game 1 delivered a big primetime win for Fox, the first for the network this season.
Somewhat surprisingly, the high-rated baseball game had little impact on the rest of the primetime field. NBC’s The Voice (2.1 in adults 18-49) suffered the biggest drop, 0.3, but might recover a bit in the finals. NBC’s breakout This Is Us (2.4) was down 0.2 from last week and again was the highest-rated entertainment show of the night, building on its Voice lead-in. CBS’ NCIS (1.7) and Bull (1.5), ABC’s American Housewife (1.5) and Fresh Off the Boat (1.2) and NBC’s Chicago Fire (1.6) were all off by a tenth, with a couple of them likely to go up in the finals, while ABC’s The Middle (1.5), The Real O’Neals (1.0), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (0.8) and the CW’s The Flash (1.0) and No Tomorrow (0.3) held steady. NCIS: New Orleans (1.3) actually ticked up a tenth.
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