|
Despite the final game of the World Series going well past
midnight on the East Coast, plus a 17-minute rain delay, more
than 40 million viewers watched on Fox, according to preliminary
numbers from Nielsen.
That was the most since 50.3 million tuned in to see the
Minnesota Twins defeat the Atlanta Braves in Game Seven of the
1991 World Series. Fox topped its own record of 39.1 million who
watched the Arizona Diamondbacks cap a two-run ninth-inning
rally over the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the 2001 World
Series.
The Cubs’ 8-7, extra-inning win over the Cleveland Indians was
the franchise’s first title since 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt
was U.S. president.
It was the most-watched broadcast on TV in 2016 other than
February’s Super Bowl, outpacing the NBA Finals, every night of
the Rio Summer Olympics, and the Oscars, annually the
most-watched non-sporting event. The three presidential debates
drew more viewers, but they aired across 13 TV networks and did
not feature any advertising.
In terms of household rating, the metric by which ad sales for
sports are sold against, the game drew a 21.7 rating, the
highest since the 2001 World Series (23.5 rating).
Household rating measures the percentage of TV homes that are
tuned into any given program. The seven-game series averaged
22.8 million viewers and a 12.8 HH rating, the best average for
Fox in both measures since 2004.
Nielsen will release final ratings and viewership numbers later
on Thursday, which may have a slight adjustment to the numbers.
(Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
