Despite a Friday night start to the series, Game 1 of the 2022 World Series hit a three-year high.
11.475 million viewers watched the Phillies’ 6-5, ten inning win over the Astros, with another 207,000 watching on Fox Deportes and the Fox Sports app. That’s the best mark for a Game 1 since 2019, when Game 1 of the Nationals-Astros series averaged 12.194 million viewers.
So, that’s the good news. The bad news? Friday’s Game 1 still ranks as the third least-watched World Series opener ever, ahead of just 2020 (9.195 million) and 2021 (10.811 million).
MLB should have their fingers and toes crossed for good weather this week in Philadelphia. Any postponement would bump Game 5 to Thursday, when it would go head to head with another Philadelphia-Houston matchup: the Eagles-Texans Thursday Night Football game on Prime Video. That would do serious damage to Game 5 viewership, especially in the local markets.
Ultimately, how the viewership ends up looking for this series will depend on how long it goes. Based on Game 1, the final series average should comfortably clear 2020 and 2021, but it’ll take a long, compelling series to surpass 2019 (which averaged 13.912 million over seven games) or the 2018 five-game series (14.125 million). I don’t think it’ll happen.
Viewership for Saturday’s Game 2 and Monday’s Game 3 (weather permitting) should be available on Tuesday.