WORLD SERIES TELEVISION RATINGS (1968 - 2023)

TV Ratings For Every World Series in MLB History | Baseball Almanac

A comprehensive analysis of World Series television ratings, as compiled by Nielsen Media Research, along with broadcast network data, and shares for every Major League World Series where data is researched below. Television rates were first made available in 1968, and are current through the 2023 World Series. Research by Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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." - Selig, Bud. Major League Baseball Commissioner. Subway Series Strikes Out. Fendrich, Howard. ABC News Anchor. 28 October 2000.

World Series Television Ratings

Television Analysis & Ratings Breakdown

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 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 23 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 5.2 12 9,780,000 49.
2021 FOX 6.5 16 11,750,000 47.
2022 FOX 6.1 17 11,780,000 48.
2023 FOX 4.7 14 9,082,000 50.
2024 FOX -- -- -- --
World Series TV Ratings | Research by Baseball Almanac
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baseball almanac fast facts

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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Nielsen Ratings Official Television Ratings Worksheet

The Associated Press defines a "rating" as the percentage of households with televisions watching a program and the share is the percentage of households watching a program among those with televisons in use at the time. Each national share point represented 3,117,000 homes in 2022 (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.

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?