Fox finally saw a double digit rating in the 2013 World Series. The series-clinching Game 6 delivered an 11.3 rating with an 18 share. That’s the highest ratings for a Fall Classic game dating back to Game 7 of the 2011 St. Louis-Texas World Series which drew an 11.2/18.
The viewership for Game 6 drew 19.2 million people. Thanks to the ratings on Wednesday night, Fox’s average for the six games was 8.9/15 and 14.9 million viewers. That’s 17% better than last year’s record low of 7.6/12 and 12.7 million viewers.
Overall, this was the fourth lowest-rated World Series of all time, ahead of last year, 2010 (8.4 and 14.3 million viewers) and 2008 (8.4 and 13.6 million).
Locally, Boston had its highest ratings since Game 4 of the 2007 World Series with an astounding 59.5/84. Providence was next with 44.1/61. St. Louis finished third with 37.9/55 and then Hartford rounding out the Top Five with 27.8/41.
With the end of the World Series, it marks the end of the current MLB TV contract and a new one which will feature Fox Sports 1 will begin in 2014.
Here’s the Fox announcement.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ON FOX A GRAND SLAM IN 2013
Anchored by World Series, Regional Sports Networks & Jewel Events All Demonstrate Growth
Fall Classic Rating and Audience +17% from 2012New York – The 2013 World Series is in the books, with the Boston Red Sox winning baseball’s ultimate prize at home for the first time in 95 years, and the only thing hotter than MVP Big Papi’s bat was Major League Baseball’s season-long performance for FOX Sports anchored by the Fall Classic’s dominant performance.
“This baseball season has been a tremendous success across the board for FOX Sports, and 2014 can’t get here soon enough,” said FOX Sports President and COO Eric Shanks. “Our postseason coverage saw a 26% jump year-to-year, while ratings for the All-Star Game grew, we posted solid numbers at FOX Deportes and several of our regional sports networks had record-setting seasons and dominated prime time from April through September. Next season will bring MLB to FOX Sports 1 and with it hours of studio coverage and original programs.”
The 2013 World Series averaged an 8.9/15 national household rating and 14.9 million viewers, +17% in rating and viewership over last year (7.6/12, 12.7 million viewers), according to Nielsen Media Research. The 2013 World Series also posted impressive double-digit increases across key male and adults demographics over 2012, including Men 18-34 (+18%, 4.7 vs. 4.0); Men 18-49 (+13%, 5.3 vs. 4.7); Adults 18-49 (+17%, 4.2 vs. 3.6) and Adults 18-34 (+16%, 3.7 vs. 3.2).
FOX’s coverage of Series-clinching Game 6 delivered a Series-high 11.3/18 national household rating and share, with 19.2 million viewers watching as the Red Sox captured their eighth World Series. Game 6, the highest rated baseball game since Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, easily won the night in prime for FOX among households (11.2/18), notching the network’s highest-rated primetime broadcast of the season, best Wednesday night since May 2012 and the highest-rated prime time broadcast on FOX since January. Last week, the first four games of the World Series led the network to its first weekly prime time win this season, ranking No. 1 in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34, Teens and Total Viewers.
Game 6 was the highest-rated game of the Series for FOX Deportes, the nation’s leading Spanish language sports network, delivering 277,000 total viewers. It was the most-watched game on FOX Deportes since Game 2 of the 2009 World Series. The 2013 World Series was also +98% for A18-49 (128,000 vs. 64,000) vs. FOX Deportes’ inaugural year of World Series coverage in 2001.
Growth in World Series viewership comes after a 23% increase in household rating for FOX’s ALCS coverage, which averaged a 4.9/9 compared to last year’s NLCS coverage on FOX (4.0/7) and was FOX’s best LCS average since 2010. Over the entire 2013 ALCS, the important Men 18-34 demo average rose 33% compared to 2012, while other key demographics also notched double digit increases, including Men 18-49 (+27%), Adults 18-34 (+13%) and Adults 18-49 (+17%).
The 2013 MLB All-Star Game posted a 6.9/12 household rating, with 11 million viewers, +1% over last year’s 6.8/12 and 10.9 million viewers. This year marks the first time since 2001 that all of MLB’s jewel events – All-Star Game, Division Series, both League Championship Series and World Series – posted year to year audience increases.
Locally, FOX Sports regional sports networks recorded its highest-rated season ever, averaging a 3.94 household rating, a 7% increase over 2012. In fact, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports KC, Sportstime Ohio, FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports North, Sun Sports, FOX Sports Ohio, FOX Sports Wisconsin all ranked No. 1 among all cable outlets in prime time during the 2013 MLB season.
More World Series Game 6 Highlights:
- Boston led all markets with a massive 55.2/75, the best MLB rating in the market since Game 4 of the 2007 World Series.
- Boston peaked with a 59.5/84 from 11:00 -11:30 PM ET during the Fenway Park on-field celebration. Red Sox hub Providence followed with a 44.1/61.
- St. Louis delivered a 37.9/55 followed by Hartford (27.8/41), Fort Myers (16.6/27), Kansas City (14.4/23), Tampa (13.4/21), Memphis (13.3/19), Las Vegas (13.0/22), and Richmond (12.9/22) to round out the top 10.
- For the six-game series, St. Louis was the top metered market averaging 40.6/60 while Boston came in at 39.6/60.
- According to figures released by Nielsen SocialGuide, World Series Game 6 was the most social program of the day with 1.6 million tweets from 623,000 unique authors. The 2013 World Series drew 4.3 million tweets, up 86% from the 2012 World Series and more than three times the number of tweets compared to the 2011 World Series.
- According to Facebook, the 2013 World Series generated 32 million interactions from 11 million users. The Red Sox won the team buzz battle 62% to 38% over the Cardinals during the six-game series. World Series MVP David Ortiz was the most buzzed about player with nearly four times the comments, likes, and posts compared to any other player.
There you have it.
