Nationals-Astros marks the third-lowest audience for any World Series on recordgetty images
Despite going seven games, viewership for the Nationals-Astros World Series on Fox (13.9 million viewers) was down 2% from the five-game Red Sox-Dodgers Fall Classic last year (14.1 million). Nationals-Astros also marks the third-lowest audience for any World Series on record, ahead of only the seven-game Giants-Royals series in '14 (13.8 million) and five-game Phillies-Rays series in '08 (13.6 million). The last seven-game World Series -- Astros-Dodgers in '17 -- averaged 18.9 million viewers. The median age for the '19 World Series was a record-high 56.9, and the Fall Classic has now seen an increase in that statistic each of the last three seasons. Game 7 on Wednesday night drew 23.0 million viewers on Fox, giving the net an easy primetime win, but well below any prior Game 7, including 23.5 million viewers for Giants-Royals in '14 (also a Wednesday night). Game 7 did see an 85% increase over the average of the six prior games, which is above the 65% figure in '17, but below the 100% increase seen in '16 and 91% increase seen in '14. Each game of the World Series also easily beat any scripted or entertainment program on TV (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
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WORLD SERIES AVERAGE AUDIENCE TREND ON FOX
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YEAR
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GAMES
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VIEWERS (000)
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MATCHUP
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MEDIAN AGE
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'19
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7
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13,893
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Nationals-Astros
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56.9
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'18
|
5
|
14,124
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Red Sox-Dodgers
|
56.2
|
|
'17
|
7
|
18,909
|
Astros-Dodgers
|
55.0
|
|
'16
|
7
|
23,388
|
Cubs-Indians
|
53.6
|
|
'15
|
5
|
14,699
|
Royals-Mets
|
54.6
|
|
'14
|
7
|
13,825
|
Giants-Royals
|
55.7
|
|
'13
|
6
|
14,940
|
Red Sox-Cardinals
|
54.2
|
|
'12
|
4
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12,660
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Giants-Tigers
|
53.6
|
|
'11
|
7
|
16,645
|
Cardinals-Rangers
|
52.6
|
|
'10
|
5
|
14,268
|
Giants-Rangers
|
52.8
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MORE DETAILS: The AP's Joe Reedy noted Game 7 "saved Fox from having the lowest-rated series ever." When streaming is included, the World Series averaged 14.01 million viewers (AP, 11/1). AD AGE's Anthony Crupi noted Game 7 ranks No. 20 among the most-watched broadcasts of '19 to date. It was also the "youngest-skewing broadcast" of the World Series, with Fox "reaching an audience with a median age of 55.3 years." Game 7 currently "stands as the sixth highest-rated program" since the current TV season began on Sept. 23, trailing four of Fox’ national NFL windows and NBC's Cowboys-Saints "SNF" from Sept. 29 (ADAGE.com, 10/31).
LOCAL FLAVOR: In DC, Ben Strauss notes Game 7 delivered a 31.8 local rating, the best figure for the team since it relocated to DC prior to the '05 season. The previous Nationals record was set during the team's Game 2 "rout of the Astros," which earned a 24.0. For a non-MLB comparison, the Capitals’ Stanley Cup-clinching win on NBC in '18 "earned a 25.2 local rating, the best-ever local mark for that franchise." Game 7 in Houston earned a 42.7 local rating (WASHINGTON POST, 11/1).
