Brewers-Rays World Series Is Exceeding TV Viewership Expectations

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – OCTOBER 27: A detail shot of The Commissioner’s Trophy prior to Game Four of the 2026 World Series presented by Capital One between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

MLB Photos via Getty Images

Final television viewership numbers on FOX for Games 1 and 2 of the 2026 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are in. Given the small markets and lack of big stars, the Fall Classic is exceeding expectations for the league and FOX Sports.

According to Nielsen Media, by way of FOX Sports, Game 1 that saw the Brewers win 3-2 averaged 11,506,000 viewers. That’s down -6% compared to last year’s Game 1 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, and down -19% from Game 1 of the 2024 World Series between the Dodgers and New York Yankees, but up over World Series Game 1’s in ’20 (+24.4%), ’21 (+6.4%), ’22 (+0.3%), and ’23 (+25.5%). The game was most-watched telecast of the day on any network. For local ratings Milwaukee drew a whopping 33.9 rating/70 share, with Tampa pulling a 12.1/41.

Game 2, which saw the Brewers win 5-4, averaged 10,662,000 viewers. That outperformed three of last six World Series Game 2’s (’20, ‘21, ’23). It was down -6.5% compared to last year (11.4 million average viewers), down -18.8% from 2024 (13.713 average viewers), and down -1.2% from 2022 (10.789 million). It was, again, the most watched telecast of the day on any network. On the local side, Milwaukee continued to pull astonishing ratings/share numbers (35.4/71) compared to an 11.8/43 in Tampa.

Game 3 numbers have yet to be released, but one would expect them to be down below the 10 million average viewer mark for more than one reason: it went up against Monday Night Football, and while Games 1 and 2 were closely fought, the Brewers shellacked the Rays 10-1. The blowout likely caused fringe fans to turn to other programming.

The Brewers are on the edge of history with Game 4, with a chance to sweep the Rays and bring their first-ever World Series championship to Milwaukee. That should goose numbers as people tune in to see potential history. And it’s not just the first World Series championship that is in the offing. If they sweep tonight, they will do something truly historic.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.