World Series opener viewers up 17.5% over last year's low

HOUSTON (AP) — Atlanta’s 6-2 victory over Houston in Game 1 of the World Series drew an average of 10,811,000 viewers on Fox, up 17.5% from the record low of 9,195,000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ opening 8-3 win over Tampa Bay last year.

The Braves-Astros number was the second-lowest total to start a Series.

Tuesday night’s game averaged a 6.1 rating, 15 share on Fox. Fox said it averaged 11,077,000 viewers combined for Fox, Fox Deportes for Spanish-language coverage and Fox’s streaming apps. The game was the most-streamed World Series opener at 273,619, an increase of 82%.

Before last year, the low for a Game 1 had been San Francisco’s 7-1 win over Kansas City on Oct. 21, 2014, viewed by an average of 12,191,000 on a Tuesday night.

Last year’s Series, played at the neutral site of Arlington, Texas, because of the pandemic, received an average television rating 32% below the previous World Series low. The six games on Fox last year averaged a 5.2 rating, 12 share and 9,785,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The previous low was a 7.6 rating, 12 share and 12,660,000 viewers for the San Francisco Giants’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in 2012.

The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in to a broadcast. The share is the percentage viewing a telecast among those households with TVs on at the time.

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