World Series Television Ratings (1968 - 2019)

TV Ratings For Every World Series in Major League History

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present comprehensive analysis of World Series television ratings as compiled by Nielsen Media Research, broadcast network data, and shares for every Major League World Series where data is available (since 1968).

"I don't have any reaction right now (when asked about the 2000 World Series ratings). I'm going to study them over the weekend, and I'll have a comment next week." - Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig on ABC News (Howard Fendrich, 10/28/200, 'Subway Series Strikes Out', Source)

World Series Television Ratings Television Analysis & Ratings Breakdown
Year / Series	Television Network	Rating	Share	Viewers	Rank
1968	NBC	22.8	57	--	--
1969	NBC	22.4	58	--	--
1970	NBC	19.4	53	--	--
1971	NBC	24.2	59	--	--
1972	NBC	27.6	58	--	--
1973	NBC	30.7	57	34,750,000	11.
1974	NBC	25.6	46	29,080,000	18.
1975	NBC	28.7	52	35,960,000	8.
1976	NBC	27.5	48	34,720,000	12.
1977	ABC	29.8	53	37,150,000	6.
1978	NBC	32.8	56	44,278,950	1.
1979	ABC	28.5	50	37,960,000	5.
1980	NBC	32.8	56	42,300,000	2.
1981	ABC	30.0	49	41,370,000	3.
1982	NBC	27.9	49	38,070,000	4.
1983	ABC	23.3	41	29,540,000	17.
1984	NBC	22.9	40	28,010,000	20.
1985	ABC	25.3	39	34,510,000	13.
1986	NBC	28.6	46	36,370,000	7.
1987	ABC	24.0	41	35,340,000	10.
1988	NBC	23.9	39	34,490,000	14.
1989	ABC	16.4	29	24,550,000	25.
1990	CBS	20.8	36	30,240,000	15.
1991	CBS	24.0	39	35,680,000	9.
1992	CBS	20.2	34	30,010,000	16.
1993	CBS	17.3	30	24,700,000	24.
1994	Strike Season	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1995	ABC / NBC	19.5	33	28,970,000	19.
1996	FOX	17.4	29	25,220,000	22.
1997	NBC	16.7	29	24,790,000	23.
1998	FOX	14.1	24	20,340,000	29.
1999	NBC	16.0	26	23,731,000	27.
2000	FOX	12.4	21	18,081,000	34.
2001	FOX	15.7	26	24,528,000	26.
2002	FOX	11.9	20	19,261,000	32.
2003	FOX	12.8	22	20,143,000	30.
2004	FOX	15.8	26	25,390,000	21.
2005	FOX	11.1	19	17,162,000	36.
2006	FOX	10.1	17	15,795,000	38.
2007	FOX	10.6	18	17,212,000	35.
2008	FOX	8.4	14	13,198,000	45.
2009	FOX	11.7	19	19,334,000	31.
2010	FOX	8.4	14	14,217,000	41.
2011	FOX	10.0	16	16,521,000	37.
2012	FOX	7.6	12	12,636,000	46.
2013	FOX	8.9	15	14,984,000	39.
2014	FOX	8.2	14	13,930,000	43.
2015	FOX	8.6	16	14,533,000	40.
2016	FOX	12.9	22	22,847,000	28.
2017	FOX	10.6	20	18,705,000	33.
2018	FOX	8.3	17	14,125,000	42.
2019	FOX	8.1	16	13,912,000	44.
2020	FOX	--	--	--	--
Year / Series	Television Network	Rating	Share	Viewers	Rank
World Series TV Ratings \| Research by Basbeall Almanac, Inc.

The year after Fox Sports signed a long term contract they were greeted with the ratings during the 2000 World Series. Fox Sports President Ed Goren said, "There's no question the viewership never built. Normally, through a Series, it builds from game one to a game two, from a game two to a game three. We would have liked to have seen higher numbers, but they are respectable in today's world."

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The Associated Press defines a"rating" as the percentage of TVs in the United States watching a broadcast. Each national point represents 1,114,000 homes in 2006 (each year the number changes: in 2003 it was 1,084,000; in 2002 it was 1,067,000; in 2001 it was 1,055,000; in 1999 it was 1,008,000). A "share" is the percentage watching a program among those households with televisions on at the time.

Least Viewed		Most Viewed
2012 World Series		1978 World Series
2008 World Series		1980 World Series
2019 World Series		1981 World Series
2014 World Series		1982 World Series
2018 World Series		1979 World Series

Did you know that during the 2000 Subway Series, 61% of the televisions in New York watched Game 5? Did you know that the next thirty largest television markets, during that same exact viewing period, registered double digit percentage losses compared to the market in New York City?