TV Ratings: Baseball Beat Football Thursday Night

World Series Game 5 expectedly outdrew “Thursday Night Football” in the respective local markets on Thursday.

The Philly Business Journal reports The Houston Astros’ 3-2 win over the Phillies drew a 25.9 rating in Philadelphia, outshining the 8.7 local rating for the over-the-air telecast in the market for Eagles-Texans on WPHL (PHL17). In Houston, Game 5 drew a 25.5 local rating, while the NFL matchup drew a 1.5 local rating on KTXH. 

The NFL game, won by the 8-0 Eagles 29-17, also was available for streaming in those local markets on Amazon Prime Video.

Nationally, Fox on Wednesday night finished with 11.8 million viewers for the Astros’ no-hitter against the Phillies in Game 4, up 9% from 10.8 million a year ago for Braves-Astros Game 4, which aired on a Saturday night. The game won the night among all telecasts and peaked with 13.8 million viewers from 9:45-10pm ET.

Philadelphia led the way with a 26.6 rating, while Houston was No. 2 with a 24.0 rating. Game 3 on Tuesday night is the lone matchup so far to see a decline compared to 2021. Fox drew 11.2 million viewers for the Phillies’ win, down 3% from Game 3 last year, which aired on a Friday night. Philadelphia drew a 29.1 local rating for Game 3, while Houston drew a 21.9.

Through four games though, Fox is still seeing an uptick for the World Series, averaging 11.3 million viewers, which is up 4% from 2021 and up 24% over the pandemic-influenced figures from 2020.