ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The World Series drew a record-low audience of television viewers for the second straight night.
Tampa Bay’s 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 on Wednesday night was seen by an average of 8,950,000 viewers on Fox, receiving a 5.0 rating and 11 share, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Still, Fox won the prime-time evening with its best performance on a Wednesday night since May.
The two-game average is 9,070,000 viewers.
Los Angeles’ opening 8-3 victory on Tuesday was seen by an average of 9,195,000 viewers on Fox from 8:06 p.m. to 11:41 p.m. EDT, receiving a 5.1 rating and 11 share.
The low for any game before this year came the only other time the Rays were in the World Series, when their 5-4 loss to Philadelphia in Game 3 in 2008 was viewed by an average of 9,836,000 on Oct. 25, a Saturday night. The start was delayed by rain for 91 minutes to 10:06 p.m. and the final out was at 1:47 a.m.
The previous 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. The low for a Game 2 had been last year, when Washington’s 12-3 rout at Houston was viewed by an average of 12,014,000 on a Wednesday night.
The Dodgers’ seven-game NL Championship Series win over the Atlanta Braves averaged 4,410,000 viewers on Fox and FS1.
Tampa Bay’s seven-game AL Championship Series win over the Houston Astros averaged 2,767,000 viewers on TBS and the Rays’ Game 7 win drew a 12.8 rating in the Tampa market, the highest for a Rays game since Game 4 of the 2013 Division Series against Boston. Game 7 drew a 13.0 rating in Houston.
TBS said its TV Everywhere platforms averaged an audience of 48,000 per minute during its postseason coverage, up 71% from last year.
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.
Year-to-year ratings are difficult to compare because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has shifted schedules, and competition this autumn from election news.
This year’s LCS viewers, with start times:
ALCS Oct. 11: ALCS Game 1 — TBS, 7:30-11:40 p.m. EDT — 2,069,000
Oct. 12: ALCS Game 2 — TBS, 4-7:22 p.m. — 1,878,000
Oct. 13: ALCS Game 3 — TBS, 8:30 p.m.-12:46 a.m. — 2,123,000
Oct. 14: ALCS Game 4 — TBS, 8:30 p.m.-12:04 a.m. — 2,719,000
Oct. 15: ALCS Game 5 — TBS, 5-8:49 p.m. — 2,706,000
Oct. 16; ALCS Game 6 — TBS, 6-10:16 p.m. — 3,468,000
Oct. 17: ALCS Game 7 — TBS, 8:30 p.m.-midnight — 4,502,000
NLCS
Oct. 12: NLCS Game 1 — Fox, 8-11:30 p.m. — 4,240,000
Oct. 13: NLCS Game 2 — FS1, 6-10:17 p.m. — 2,489,000
Oct. 14: NLCS Game 3 — FS1, 6-10:21 p.m. — 2,118,000
Oct. 15: NLCS Game 4 — Fox & FS1, 8-11:51 p.m. — 5,085,000
Oct. 16: NLCS Game 5 — FS1, 9-12:53 a.m. — 3,642,000
Oct. 17: NLCS Game 6 — FS1, 4:30-7:58 p.m. — 4,315,000
Oct. 18: NLCS Game 7 — Fox & FS1, 8-11:52 p.m. — 9,662,000
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.