The 2021 World Series viewership ended up as the second least-watched Fall Classic on record.
The full six-game World Series averaged 12.02 million total viewers across TV and streaming, according to Fox Sports. For just the Fox TV broadcast, the series averaged 11.75 million viewers.
The full-series TV-only average was 20 percent better than last year’s 9.77 million average for the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. It was down 25 percent, however, from the Washington Nationals’ seven-game win over the Astros in 2019, which averaged 13.91 million total viewers.
The pre-pandemic World Series viewership low was 12.6 million for the San Francisco Giants four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in 2012. Unlike the 2020-21 series, the 2012 average doesn’t include out-of-home viewership (hotels, bars, etc.) and streaming then was quite small.
MLB and Fox certainly can brag that the 2021 World Series topped this year’s NBA Finals (9.91 million average over six games) and the Stanley Cup Finals (2.43 million average over five games). The World Series also easily won all the key advertiser demographics with young men and women, by large margins, on its broadcast nights.
“The World Series performed exactly in line with that we have come to expect. It beat everything on television except the NFL,” said Mike Mulvihill, a Fox Sports executive vice president and head of strategy and analytics.
The full six-game World Series averaged 12.02 million total viewers across TV and streaming, according to Fox Sports. For just the Fox TV broadcast, the series averaged 11.75 million viewers.
The full-series TV-only average was 20 percent better than last year’s 9.77 million average for the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. It was down 25 percent, however, from the Washington Nationals’ seven-game win over the Astros in 2019, which averaged 13.91 million total viewers.
The pre-pandemic World Series viewership low was 12.6 million for the San Francisco Giants four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in 2012. Unlike the 2020-21 series, the 2012 average doesn’t include out-of-home viewership (hotels, bars, etc.) and streaming then was quite small.
MLB and Fox certainly can brag that the 2021 World Series topped this year’s NBA Finals (9.91 million average over six games) and the Stanley Cup Finals (2.43 million average over five games). The World Series also easily won all the key advertiser demographics with young men and women, by large margins, on its broadcast nights.
“The World Series performed exactly in line with that we have come to expect. It beat everything on television except the NFL,” said Mike Mulvihill, a Fox Sports executive vice president and head of strategy and analytics.
