October 31, 2023 by Mitch Metcalf
The 2023 World Series between
the Arizona Diamondbacks and
the Texas Rangers is underway,
and the early TV ratings are in. Although the Game 1 audience showed some promise on Friday night, Game 2 confirmed this matchup is about as bad as it
gets for a sport that struggles to deliver a national television audience.
Game 1’s audience peaked at 9.9M viewers around 9:30pm ET and nearly matched that number again around 11:00pm (9.8M) as the game moved through extra innings and ended with a 6-5 Texas victory after 11 innings. On Saturday the Game 2 audience peaked at 8.9M viewers around 9:15pm but the audience evaporated toward 11pm as the 2-1 Arizona lead through 6 innings turned into a 9-1 rout by the end.
Game 1 on Friday ended up with 9.2M viewers in an average minute, while Game 2 dropped to 8.2M viewers for an average minute. Games 1-2 together average 8.7M this year, down -22% from 11.2M last year (PHI-HOU) and down -6% from the previous low of 9.3M in 2020 (TB-LA).
The 2023 World Series is tracking toward the lowest audience size (millions of viewers) and the second-lowest relative audience index, which compares a given year’s audience size to the most recent five years. This puts World Series from different eras on an equal footing, with a 100 index exactly matching the recent five years, a 110 index indicating a year is +10% above the recent five years, and a 90 index denoting -10% below the recent five years. Here is the updated track since 1990:
MLB WORLD SERIES GAMES 1-2 AUDIENCE
[Index to recent years, 100=average] Millions of U.S. viewers
Below Average World Series [Index 94 or less]
[81] 9.3M TB Rays vs LA Dodgers 2020
[84] 8.7M ARI Dbacks at TEX Rangers 2023
[86] 13.8M PHI Phillies at TB Rays 2008
[88] 12.5M SF Giants at KC Royals 2014
[88] 16.1M HOU Astros at CHI White Sox 2005
[88] 17.5M SF Giants at ANA Angels 2002
[89] 19.4M CLE Indians at FLA Marlins 1997
[90] 15.5M STL Cardinals at DET Tigers 2006
[91] 12.3M DET Tigers at SF Giants 2012
[92] 18.3M SD Padres at NY Yankees 1998
[94] 18.2M NY Mets at NY Yankees 2000
Average World Series [Index 95-105]
[96] 14.2M TEX Rangers at STL Cardinals 2011
[97] 14.5M NY Mets at KC Royals 2015
[97] 21.6M ATL Braves at NY Yankees 1996
[98] 19.0M FLA Marlins at NY Yankees 2003
[98] 24.2M PHI Phillies at TOR Blue Jays 1993
[99] 14.6M TEX Rangers at SF Giants 2010
[99] 12.1M WAS Nationals at HOU Astros 2019
[100] 13.7M LA Dodgers at BOS Red Sox 2018
[103] 10.7M ATL Braves at HOU Astros 2021
[103] 13.9M STL Cardinals at BOS Red Sox 2013
[103] 20.1M NY Yankees at ARI Dbacks 2001
[104] 15.3M HOU Astros at LA Dodgers 2017
[104] 16.9M COL Rockies at BOS Red Sox 2007
Above Average World Series [Index 105+]
[107] 11.2M PHI Phillies at HOU Astros 2022
[111] 27.5M TOR Blue Jays at ATL Braves 1992
[114] 22.4M NY Yankees at ATL Braves 1999
[114] 27.5M CLE Indians at ATL Braves 1995
[116] 28.5M ATL Braves at MIN Twins 1991
[122] 19.2M PHI Phillies at NY Yankees 2009
[123] 18.3M CHI Cubs at CLE Indians 2016
[131] 24.2M STL Cardinals at BOS Red Sox 2004
Coming in the next post in a few days: the demographics of MLB. In addition to getting smaller, the World Series TV audience continues to get much older, a double-whammy that makes the next media rights agreement much tougher for MLB than NBA and NFL. Also, we will update for Game 3-4 ratings (available late Wednesday).
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