The early numbers are in for Game 7 of the World Series and while they are not as huge as the Chicago Cubs’ historic run in 2016, this year’s numbers were still big.
According to the overnight ratings, approximately 31 million people watched the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 to win the first championship in franchise history. While that is well below the 40 million from a year ago, this year’s television audience would still be the second-largest TV audience for any baseball game in the last 13 years and the second-largest TV audience for a Game 7 in the last 16 years, according to Sports Media Watch.
The number is a good sign for Major League Baseball, suggesting that the 20-year decline in ratings since the early 1990s is over. In fact, the last three World Series Game 7s (2014, 2016, 2017) have averaged 31.5 million viewers. In comparison, the last three NBA Finals Game 7s (2010, 2013, 2016) have averaged 28.5 million TV viewers, despite being considered a sport that is much stronger in the postseason than MLB.