Dodgers’ first World Series championship win since 1988 attracts 12.6 million viewers, much lower than last year’s ratings

 The Los Angeles Dodgers’ first World Series championship in more than three decades attracted 12.6 viewers on Tuesday night, the most-viewed game of the series. But the ratings were a lot lower than last year’s games, a consistent theme throughout the series.

Game six of the 2020 World Series between the Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays peaked at 14.3 million viewers on Fox Sports. The network accumulated the streaming numbers and viewership from other Fox properties, giving it 13.2 million total viewers that night.

By comparison, Game 6 of the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals drew 15 million while Game 7 of the series attracted 23 million viewers.

The Dodgers beat the Rays 3-1 in the MLB finale, winning the series 4-2. Shortstop Corey Seager took home World Series Most Valuable Player honors for the Dodgers, who won their first World Series since 1988. It’s the team’s seventh championship overall.

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted the World Series, which was played in Arlington Texas at Globe Life Field, averaging roughly 9.7 million viewers for six games after starting with roughly 9.2 million in the opener. Game Three attracted slightly over 8 million and became the least-watched World Series game ever — or at least since Nielsen began tracking ratings in 1968.

Consumption habits and an overflow in sports telecasts due to the pandemic have assisted the decline of sports viewership and network shows but MLB had no competition on Tuesday with the National Football League between games and the National Basketball Association having already concluded its bubble season.