With the San Francisco Giants jumping out to a three-run lead in their first at-bat en route to a 7-1 thrashing of the Kansas City Royals, Game 1 of the 2014 World Series marked an all-time audience lower for the opener of a Fall Classic.
Fox’s coverage of the Oct. 22 contest from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, which was dominated by Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (pictured) averaged a 7.3 rating and 12.19 million watchers, according to Nielsen fast nationals data. That was slightly below the 12.24 for the first game between the Giants and Detroit Tigers in 2012, and down 15% from the 14.44 million for last year’s matchup between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.
Still, Tuesday’s World Series telecast was Fox’s highest-rated and most-watched primetime telecast since an episode of American Idol in February.
From 8:05 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fox averaged a 7.7 rating with 12.8 million viewers, and once final nationals are issued, the network is projected to win the night in primetime among adults 18 to 49. That, according to network officials, would mark its top Tuesday night performance since February 2012.
On Fox Deportes, Game 1 played large, averaging 273,000 viewers the most ever for a World Series game in Spanish-language TV history. That marked a 77% jump from the 154,000 for last year’s Series starter.
Tallying Fox and Fox Deportes, Game 1 drew 12.5 million watchers, edging past the 2012 average.
Kansas City led all markets, posting a 48.2 rating/68 share, the best rating for World Series Game 1 in any market since 2007, while San Francisco registered a 29.3/50. Sacramento posted a 23.0/37, followed by St. Louis (13.3/20) and Las Vegas (11.1/19) to round out the top five.
