Washington Nationals fans may have been happy with Game 1 of the 2019 World Series, but they might be the only ones. FOX executives are bemoaning ratings that are close to record lows.
Game 1 drew an average audience of 12.194 million. That is the lowest number in five years. It is also the second lowest number on record for Game 1. Only the 2014 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals started with a lower number. 2019’s number is off of the 2018 number by 11%.
One factor may be that the New York Yankees fell short on their road to the Fall Classic. Shows on other networks were largely unaffected by World Series coverage. That likely means few casual fans that might tune in just to see a championship level event were drawn to the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.
The NBA season tipped off on Tuesday. It is not known how much of a role TNT’s double header played in the less-than-desireable numbers for Fox, but it almost certainly forced sports fans to choose.
Inside of Washington and Houston, the numbers were relatively good. The game drew a 27.7 household rating in Houston. In DC, it was a 23.1.
