After a wild finish to Game 3, Fox's broadcast of Game 4 of the 2013 World Series drew a 10.5 overnight rating and averaged 15.39 million viewers. Both of those marks beat an unappealing matchup on Sunday Night Football between the Vikings and Packers, which drew a 10.3 overnight and averaged 14.91 million viewers.

Both games will likely be adjusted once the final numbers come in, but this is a good omen for MLB after Game 1 was the second least-viewed series opener ever. 15.39 million viewers is the highest viewership total for a non-potential clincher or series opener since Game 4 of the Giants-Rangers series in 2010 drew 15.54 million viewers. This was the middle game of a series going up against Sunday Night Football and The Walking Dead, and it did extremely well.

The 10.5 overnight is also the first time since Game 4 in 2009 that MLB drew a 10.0 rating for a game that wasn't a potential clincher. Even with adjustments, it's an impressive feat for the league.

Through four games, the series is averaging 13.9 million viewers, up over a million viewers from last season. Considering how much the ratings jump during potential clinchers, the floor for this series seems to be 15 million, which I'm sure MLB would be thrilled with after last year's disaster between the Giants and Tigers. Considering how great this series has been from a baseball standpoint, I wouldn't be surprised if the ratings and viewership totals were able to surpass 2010 (and perhaps 2005 and 2007) by the end of the series.

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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