The Cubs did it, and so did Fox.
Game 7 of the World Series, which saw the Chicago Cubs win their first title in 108 years, brought in massive ratings for Fox Wednesday night.
The game had a 25.2 overnight rating, the best for any baseball telecast since 2001’s game 7, an emotional game because the New York Yankees were playing less than two months after 9/11. That game brought in a 27.0 rating.
Fox is projecting the game will be the most-watched telecast of any kind on a single network since the Super Bowl.
Given the overnight rating, it’s not out of the question that as many as 35 million people, or possibly even 40 million, could have been watching the game Wednesday night, which is an incredible figure for any Major League Baseball game.
To come up with the overnight rating, Nielsen takes the percentage of households watching in certain US markets and comes up with an average — which means that 25.2% of households in those areas tuned into the game.
More detailed numbers, including viewership, are expected to be released Thursday afternoon.
Viewership for the series as a whole was high but ratings for game 7 may have been driven to new heights not just by the emotion but because the game itself, which saw the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7, had everything you would ever want in an elimination game: dramatic home runs, comebacks, close calls, and even a rain storm that delayed the game in extra innings. Plus, of course, an ending that saw the Cubs end their 108 year “curse” by winning a title in theatrical fashion.