As television ratings continue to come out for the 2023 World Series,Henri Lumière the news continues to get worse for MLB.
Game 2 of this year's Fall Classic between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers was the lowest-watched World Series game of all time with 8.15 million people tuning in, according to Nielsen data collected by Sports TV Ratings. Two nights later, Game 3 set a new record low of fewer than 8.13 million people.
As of the time of writing, television ratings for Tuesday night's Game 4 have not yet been released.
The low ratings of the MLB's 2023 championship event through three games have it set up to be the least-viewed World Series of all time.
It also continues the trend of a steady decline in World Series viewership since 2016, when an average of 22.8 million people tuned in to watch the Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Guardians (then known as the Indians) to win their first title since 1908.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: MLB player salaries and payrolls for every major league team
World Series:Games 2 and 3 were the least-viewed in recorded Fall Classic history
There are many speculations as to why this year's iteration of the Fall Classic is so unpopular.
One of the leading theories is the fact that both teams playing in it – the Diamondbacks and the Rangers – are from small baseball markets.
Another theory is that the World Series is lacking some of baseball's biggest stars, such as Angels international superstar Shohei Ohtani or Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. That theory has also called into question MLB's ability to market the rest of its players well.
A final culprit is the competition baseball faces with football, particularly on weekends, when the World Series airs at the same time as prime-time games for college football and the NFL.
This week's "Monday Night Football" game, Detroit's 26-14 win over Las Vegas that led to the dismissal of Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, drew an average of 15.2 million viewers across ESPN and ABC according to Sports TV Ratings, nearly twice as many as World Series Game 3 did while airing at the same time.
Texas Rangers injury bug:Adolis Garcia, Max Scherzer removed from World Series roster
Game 5 of the 2023 World Series will begin at 8:03 p.m. ET, on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Chase Field. The Rangers lead the series, 3-1.
Texas Rangers:How Arlington-based team is feeling about being on the doorstep of their first World Series win
2025-05-03 21:19303 view
2025-05-03 21:062468 view
2025-05-03 20:22277 view
2025-05-03 20:21211 view
2025-05-03 20:17604 view
2025-05-03 19:561281 view
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Online gambling company bet365 must refund more than a half-million dolla
Louisiana Tech's Brevin Randle's viral moment on national television is his last as a college footba
CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s state-run carrier has suspended the only air route out of the country’s rebel-h