This from Fox Sports, we learn that the World Series is drawing better numbers from last year. For Thursday night’s Game 2 that assured that the St. Louis-Boston series will go at least five games, Fox received an 8.3 rating and a 14 share. That is up 6% from last year. And the game averaged 13.4 million viewers and that is up 9% from 2012’s Game 2 viewership of 12.3 million for the San Francisco-Detroit series.
The ratings for Game 2 gave Fox a primetime win an its best Thursday night numbers this year since the American Idol season finale back in May.
The first two games are averaging an 8.5/14 and 13.9 million viewers, up 10% and 13% respectively.
Locally, St. Louis led all markets with a 42.0/61, the highest local MLB Postseason rating since Game 7 of the 2011 World Series. Boston was second with a 37.3/57. Providence was next with a 33.9/49 with Hartford in fourth followed by Kansas City.
We have the official press release from Fox Sports.
CARDINALS STRIKE BACK & PROPEL WORLD SERIES ON FOX
Game 2 Viewership Up 9%; Series Up 13% Over 2012
Network Wins Second Consecutive Night in PrimetimeNew York, NY – A World Series sweep is not in the cards for the Red Sox this time as St. Louis ends Boston’s nine-game winning streak in the Fall Classic and sets the stage for more exciting action from St. Louis.
World Series Game 2 on FOX scored an 8.3/14 national household rating/share and averaged 13.4 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research. Last night’s game is up 6% in rating and 9% in viewership over last year’s 7.8/12 (12.3 million viewers).
Last night’s game powered the network to a first place finish in primetime television for the second consecutive night, averaging an 8.3/14 from 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM. It is FOX’s best Thursday night since the American Idol finale in May and won the night in many key demographics including Men 18-34 (3.6), Men 18-49 (4.5), Adults 18-34 (2.9) and Adults 18-49 (3.6). World Series Game 1 and 2 mark the first time that FOX has won primetime on consecutive nights since two-night American Idol finale episodes in May.
World Series Game 2 opened with a 6.3/11 and grew steadily through the exciting contest and peaked from 10:00 – 10:30 PM ET posting a 9.6/15 as 15.6 million viewers watched the Cardinals rally to even the series.
Through Games 1 & 2, the World Series in FOX is averaging an 8.5/14 and 13.9 million viewers nationally, up 10% in rating and 13% in viewership over last year’s 7.7/12 (12.3 million viewers). FOX’s LCS/World Series postseason average is up 16% from 2012 (5.7/10, 6 ALCS, 2 WS games) vs. (4.9/8, 7 NLCS, 2 WS games).
While the Cardinals won the game, the Red Sox won the social media battle on Facebook. According to Facebook, Game 2 generated 4.7 million interactions from 2.7 million users. Red Sox fans were responsible for 58% of the comments, likes and posts, compared to 42% buzz from Cardinals fans. Men 25-34 and Men 35-44 led all demos. There have been more than 11 million interactions on Facebook related to the World Series through Games 1 and 2.
According to figures released by Nielsen SocialGuide, Twitter activity for last night’s World Series Game 2 saw impressive increases over 2012. The game drew over 452,000 tweets (up 63% from 2012 World Series Game 2) from more than 222,000 unique authors (up 52%) and was the No. 1 social telecast of the night in all categories.
St. Louis led all markets with a 42.0/61, its best MLB postseason rating since Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, followed by Boston’s 37.3/57. Providence (33.8/49), Hartford (21.1/32), Kansas City (13.9/22), Fort Myers (12.3/19), Richmond (11.7/18), Memphis (11.0/16), Detroit (10.0/16), and Greensboro (9.8/14) round out the top ten markets for Thursday night’s broadcast.
Coverage of Game 3 begins Saturday, Oct. 26 from Busch Stadium in St. Louis at 7:30 PM ET on FOX.
That will do it.
