World Series Game 5 trounces Sunday Night Football in overnight TV ratings

Fox’s broadcast of Game 5 between the Cubs and Indians drew a 15.3 overnight rating, topping the Cowboys-Eagles overtime game on NBC by 32%.

In the world of television ratings, this is a shocker: Baseball crushed football on a Sunday night

Per Austin Karp of the Sports Business Daily: Fox’s broadcast of Game 5 of the World Series between the Cubs and Indians drew a 15.3 overnight rating, topping the Cowboys-Eagles overtime game on NBC by 32% (11.6 for Sunday Night Football). According to Sports Media Watch, it’s the first time since 2013 that the World Series has topped SNF head-to-head.

Given national broadcasts of Cowboys’ games traditionally blow away all in its path, it’s a stunning number. World Series Game 5 was up 31% from the Royals-Mets last year (11.7) and up 87% from the Royals-Giants in 2014 (8.2). Via Sports Media Watch, the game drew the highest overnight rating for any Major League Baseball game since Game 7 of the 2011 Rangers/Cardinals Fall Classic (16.2).

Radio voices of Cubs, Indians reveal what it’s like to call the 2016 World Series

Through four games, the World Series has averaged 18.2 million viewers on Fox, making it the most-watched World Series through the first four games since 2009 (19.1 million viewers after four games.)

Heading into Sunday’s game, NBC’s Sunday Night Football was down 19% and ESPN’s Monday Night Football was down 24%.