Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.wusf.org
For those fearing record-low ratings for the World Series, the matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays is exceeding expectations.
The audiences for the first two games on Fox Sports were down only 6% compared to Games 1 and 2 from last year’s Fall Classic between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
“I think they’ve probably surpassed everybody’s expectations. I think very few people, including me, would’ve guessed that we’d be down 6% through two games. We’re really satisfied,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports president for insight and analytics
Milwaukee’s 3-2 win in Game 1 last Friday averaged 12.26 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes, Fox One streaming, the Fox Sports app and Univision. The Brewers’ 5-4 victory in Game 2, which did not include Univision coverage, averaged 10.85 million.
Both games were the most-watched broadcast of the night.
Tampa Bay ranks as the No. 11 television market in the county, and Milwaukee is the 38th, according to Nielsen.
With two small-market teams vying for the championship, there were many predictions the early ratings could rival the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, which was the least-watched on record with a 9.11 million average. Game 2 of that series set the record low at 8.15 million.
The difference this year, though, is that Milwaukee has a steady base of fans in the Midwest and has been a consistent contender the last couple of seasons. This is also a matchup of the two teams with the best records in baseball this season.
“I do think there’s something helpful about having a traditional team from the Midwest in the series. And the fact that they were able to take down the two-time defending champs (the Dodgers) and do it in really convincing fashion, I think that helps build some interest for the World Series,” Mulvihill said.
Fox-only numbers were strong in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market, posting a 12.1 rating and 41 share for Game 1 and an 11.8 rating and 43 share for Game 2. That means roughly four out of every 10 televisions in use in the market were tuned to the Rays.
But that paled in comparison to the Milwaukee market, where the games were played.
The market generated a 33.9 rating and 70 share for Game 1 and an even stronger 35.4 rating and 71 share for Game 2. Fox noted Game 1 had the highest local rating for a World Series opener in seven years. For Game 2, more than seven in 10 TVs in use were watching the game.
The Fox-only average for the first two games this year is 11.05 million.
Fox could be holding its breath for the ratings from Monday’s Game 3. Not only was it a 10-1 blowout win for Milwaukee, it faced stiff competition with the Dallas Cowboys playing the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football.”
