Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, which saw the St. Louis Cardinals win their 11th World Series title, averaged 25.4 million viewers on FOX. That figure makes it the most watched baseball game since 2004 when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series erasing a drought of 86 years. Except for the historic 2004 World Series, Game 7 drew the most viewers of any baseball game since Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.
The World Series was a huge success for FOX delivering the best Friday night in the history of the network. Game 7 was the highest rated and most watched Friday night telecast on any network since the 2010 Winter Olympics and easily gave FOX its sixth primetime win in seven nights. It was also the highest rated night of primetime on any network since the start of the 2011-12 broadcast season.
The 14.7 U.S. household rating for Game 7 brings the 2011 World Series average rating to 10.0, which is +19% higher than last year’s World Series, featuring the same American League team and a National League team (San Francisco Giants) with twice the number of TV households as compared to St. Louis.
The 2011 Cardinals, who were 10.5 games out of first place in late August and were twice down to their last strike in Game 6, captured the imagination of St. Louis resulting in a 52.7 rating in the market, which was higher than any of their previous marks in the 2004 or 2006 World Series. When the Cardinals won the World Series, 89% of households in St. Louis that had their televisions on were tuned in to see the game.
Back-to-back runs to the World Series by the Rangers have resulted in more local interest in the team. The 2011 World Series averaged a 38.0 rating in Dallas/Ft. Worth which is +22% from last year’s average of 31.1.
(Source: Major League Basseball)
