Game 1 of this year’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves saw a 17% increase in viewership from last year’s Rays-Dodgers World Series game one.
The game averaged over 11 million viewers, including the Spanish broadcast, over-the-air audiences and streams. Last year’s game 1 more than 9 million viewers, according to the Nielson Co. The game was on in 689,000 Atlanta households and more than 647,000 homes in Houston.
Game 2 saw a dip in viewers by 14% but the overall viewership still matches game 2 of the 2020 World Series.
Major League Baseball, once the most popular American sport, has seen a decline in viewership going back to the 1970s. It saw a spike in viewers during the 2017 World Series between the Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers but returned to its downward trend the next year. Last year’s World Series was the least-watched World Series in MLB’s history.
The 2021 World Series is currently tied 1-1 after the Astros tied the series up with a 7-2 win Wednesday night in Houston. The series continues in Atlanta on Friday evening.
