TV Ratings: ‘This Is Us’ Premieres Low Up Against World Series Finale

“This Is Us” returned for its fifth season on Tuesday night, but failed to score the kind of ratings figures it has in the past.

Up against the sixth and final game of the World Series, “This Is Us” premiered to a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and 7.1 million total viewers. While that audience tally is just above the show’s averaged last season, that rating represents a 28% drop from the season 4 curtain raiser. On the plus side, “This Is Us” did manage to build on its lead-in “The Voice,” which delivered a 1.0 rating and 7.4 million viewers. It’s also worth bearing in mind that TV viewership is down across the board of late, and that “This Is Us” is one of broadcast’s strongest performers in delayed and digital viewing.

Meanwhile, an average of around 10.3 million viewers tuned in to see the Los Angeles Dodgers clinch the World Series up against the Tampa Bay Rays on Fox. A 2.7 average rating was also easily enough to win the night. Given the nature of live sports, those numbers are subject to significant adjustment. However, for the time being, viewership for last night’s game is on course to be far below the numbers put up by last year’s World Series.

ABC came third in the overall network race, thanks to “The Bachelorette” which came in even on last week at a 1.2 rating and 4.3 million viewers. Replays of “The Conners” and “Black-is” followed with a 0.5 and a 0.3 respectively.

Over on CBS, a “Price is Right at Night” special came in with a 0.7 rating and just under 5 million total viewers. A “Let’s Make a Deal” primetime special followed that with a 0.6 and 4 million pairs of eyeballs, with “FBI: Declassified” rounding off the night at a 0.3 rating and 2.5 million viewers.

“Swamp Thing” scored a 0.2 rating and 915,000 viewers for CW, followed by “Tell Me a Story” with a 0.1 and 482,000.

“Medicos” and “Imperio De Mentiras” both delivered a 0.4 rating for Univision, while Telemundo was led by “Todo Por Mi Hija” and “Falsa Identidad,” both at a 0.3.