Cubs Win Scores Most-Watched World Series Game 6 Since 1997

UPDATE, 10:57 AM: There is one more game to go in the 2016 World Series, but last night’s Game 6 was a real win for Fox. With the final numbers in, the Chicago Cubs’ 9-3 victory that denied the Cleveland Indians their first world championship since 1948 was watched by 23.4 million viewers last night.

That’s the best any World Series Game 6 has done since 1997, when the Indians beat the Florida Marlins. That October 25 matchup, a 4-1 Cleveland win, was seen by 23.7 million. In the end, the Marlins won the series in seven games.

Compared to the last time a World Series went to a Game 6, last night’s face-off was up an amazing 75% over the Kansas City Royals’ 10-o victory over the San Francisco Giants on October 28.

Ahead of Game 7 tonight, NBC decided to follow CBS’ lead last night and go all-encores for its primetime lineup.

PREVIOUSLY, 6:40 AM: One way or another, somebody is winning the World Series tonight but it is Fox who is already feeling like a champion. With the Chicago Cubs’ comeback to win Game 6 9-3 over the so-close-they-could-taste-it Cleveland Indians last night and tie the 2016 match-up 3-3, the network has been the beneficiary of some of the best baseball ratings in years.

And Tuesday was no exception.

The Cubs’ win over Cleveland scored a 14.8/24 in metered market ratings. That’s the best a World Series Game 6 has done since 2009 when the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies on November 4 that year to clinch the title. That Game 6 with two of the biggest teams in MLB drew a 15.5/25 in metered market numbers.

There was, of course, no Game 6 for the 2015 World Series as the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets in Game 5 last year for the big win. However, last night’s MM ratings are a whopping 66% better than the last World Series Game 6. That last Game 6 was on October 28, 2014 when the Royals crushed the San Francisco Giants 10-0 to force a Game 7 in the low-rated face-off.

So far, not including last night’s Game 6, the 2016 World Series is averaging 19.3 million viewers. To give some perspective, that’s the best any World Series has done in its first five games since 2004 when the Boston Red Sox rolled over the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight games.

Right now, Fox is looking to easily win last night and to have its best Tuesday primetime since March 2010. We’ll update with more World Series ratings later, as well as what else was on TV last night. In the meantime, just so you know, the 38th Game 7 in World Series history starts tonight at 5 PM PT from Progressive Field in Cleveland.

UPDATE, 8:53 AM: With last night’s Game 6 of the 2016 World Series potentially a much watched winner for the Cleveland Indians, CBS decided to opt out on Tuesday with nothing but encores.

It was a smart play because the Chicago Cubs denied the Ohio team their first World Series win since Harry S Truman was President and tied the MLB championship up going into tonight’s Game 7. For Fox, that was another spirited ratings run around the Big 4 bases with a 6.2/20 among adults 18-49 and 21.78 million viewers in fast affiliate numbers.

That’s a double digit demo rise over the last World Series Game 6 back in 2014 and up 15% from early numbers of last week’s Game 1 in what has been a surging series for Fox. That 2016 opener was adjusted to a 5.6/19 rating with 19.37 total viewers. Compared to Sunday’s Game 5 dramatic Cubs’ comeback, last night’s match-up was steady in the demo.

NBC came in second for the night with a 1.7/6 rating and 7.23 million viewers with This Is Us (2.3/7) the top rated and most watched (8.39 million) new drama of Tuesday. Compared to last week, the Dan Fogelman created series was basically steady with just a 4% dip in the demo. The Comcast net started the night with a clip heavy The Voice (1.4/5), which was down 33% from the all-new show of October 25. As the primetime bursting World Series entered it almost last hour, NBC ended things on Wednesday at 10 PM with Chicago Fire (1.4/5), which was down two tenths from last week.

Fire’s 10 PM lot competition Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (0.8/3) was even with last week but ABC comedies The Middle (1.4/5), Fresh Off The Boat (1.0/3) and The Real O’Neals (0.8/3) were down a tenth for the first funny show and two tenths for the latter duo. Newbie American Housewife (1.5/5) is currently matching its October 25 airing, which went up a tenth in the final numbers – as it did on the two previous occasions.

Over on the CW, The Flash (0.9/3) tripped up 10% from last week to a series low in early numbers. The struggling No Tomorrow (0.3/1) matched its October 23 results.

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