Via Fox Sports Press Release and these are still fast national, not "final" numbers:
2008 World Series VIEWERSHIP OFF TO SOLID START
Game 1 Dominates All Other Network and Cable Competition
FOX Scores Best Wednesday Night Since May’s Idol Finale
New York -- FOX Sports’ presentation of World Series Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays posted a solid 9.2/15 household rating/share, giving the network its first Wednesday prime time household victory since May’s American Idol finale, its best night of prime time on any night since the MLB All-Star Game in July and a commanding win over all other networks in several key demographics according to fast national ratings released today by Nielsen Media Research.
“The audience for Game 1 was solid, so the 2008 World Series is off to a good start,” said FOX Sports president Ed Goren. “It was a very exciting contest that matched two extremely talented teams, and I stand by my pre-World Series assessment that if we get a six or seven game series, with games as compelling as last night’s, we could have the most-watched World Series in several years.”
World Series Game 1 Highlights:
- The 2008 Game 1 household rating/share (9.2/15, 14.6 million viewers) is -12% compared to last year’s 10.5/18, 16.9 million viewers for a Game 1 featuring the nationally familiar Red Sox, but +15% better than 2006 Game 1 (Cardinals-Tigers, 8.0/15, 12.8 million viewers).
- FOX’s game coverage and pregame show (6.3/11) combined to give FOX commanding wins for the night in Households and across every significant male and adult demo. FOX averaged an 8.7/14 from 8-11pm in all Homes, topping second-place CBS’s 7.9/13, with ABC (4.4/7) and NBC (4.1/7) lagging much further behind.
- Among Adults 18-49, FOX averaged a 4.4 for the night, +29% better than second place CBS (3.4), followed by ABC (2.3) and NBC (1.9). On both Households and Adults 18-49, Game 1 handed FOX its best Wednesday night performance in over five months, dating back to the May 21 American Idol finale. Last night also ties the July 15 MLB All-Star Game as FOX’s highest-rated night among Household on any night of the week since the American Idol finale.
2008 WORLD SERIES GAME 1 FAST NATIONALS—Page 2
- Game 1 was quite strong among Men 25-54 and Men 35-54. Last night’s 7.5 among Men 25-54 is just -6% lower than last year’s 8.0 for the Red Sox/Rockies, and up +36% over the 2006 Game 1 (5.5) and up +6% over 2005 (7.1). Game 1 earned an 8.2 among Men 35-54, only -2% off last year (8.4), while up +37% over 2006 (6.0) and +2% over 2005 (8.0).
- With the visiting Phillies winning Game 1 it becomes more likely that the 2008 Fall Classic will extend beyond four games. Only once in the last forty years has the visiting team won Game 1 and gone on to sweep the Series (1999 Yankees). Just reaching a fifth game will likely make this a more-watched World Series than last year.
-- Philadelphia topped all markets with a 35.7/53, averaging a 37.5/66 in the final quarter-hour as Brad Lidge closed out The Game, and Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg was second posting a 31.9/49. Nearby markets, including Orlando (14.4/23), Fort Myers (13.3/21), and West Palm Beach (12.7/20), showed above average interest, coming in third, fourth and sixth, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 are: Minneapolis (5th, 13.1/22); Milwaukee (7th, 12.5/20); St. Louis (8th, 11.1/17) and New York and Charlotte (t9th, 10.4/17).
-- FOX SPORTS --
