World Series sets another low for television viewers

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 Game 3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays was the least-watched World Series game ever, beating the record set two days earlier in Game 2

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The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 Game 3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays was the least-watched World Series game ever, beating the record set two days earlier in Game 2.

Friday night’s game was seen by an average of 8,156,000 viewers age 2 and higher on Fox, Nielsen Media Research said. Game 2 was seen by an average of 8,950,000 and Game 1 by an average of 9,195,000.

Tampa Bay’s walk-off 8-7 win in Game 4 on Saturday night was seen by an average of 9,332,000 and the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in Game 5 on Sunday night by an average of 10,059,000.

Before this year, the only World Series game with less than 10 million viewers was Philadelphia’s rain-delayed Game 3 win over the Rays in 2008, viewed by 9,836,000. That game, played on a Saturday night, was delayed by rain for 91 minutes at the start to 10:06 p.m. EDT and the final out was at 1:47 a.m.

Last year’s Series between Washington and Houston drew 12.3 million viewers for Game 3; 10,285,000 for Game 4; and 11,464,000 for Game 5.

Ratings have been lower for sports this fall, a drop thought attributable to lower viewership during the coronavirus pandemic and competition from programming related to the presidential election.

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