TV ratings: World Series finale draws 18 million in early numbers

The World Series ended Wednesday night with a victory for the Boston Red Sox and what looks to be the most-watched Fall Classic game since 2011.

The Red Sox handily beat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 to win the series, and the match-up drew about 18 million viewers, according to early numbers from Nielsen, which will likely change later in the day when time-zone-adjusted figures are released. Viewership tallies for live sports typically rise in the final statistics.

Still, that tops any game from the 2012 series -- the lowest-rated ever -- in which the San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in four games. However, the sixth game of the seven-game 2011 series drew more than 21 million viewers in the final ratings.

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Fox easily beat the other major networks, scoring a rating of 5.4 in the advertiser-desired 18-49 age demographic, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers.

Going up against baseball, it’s no surprise that every other broadcast show fell or remained flat in the ratings.

CBS came in second in the ratings with a 2.2 in the 18-49 demographic and 9.75 million viewers overall. “Survivor” fell 4% to a 2.3 compared with last week, while “Criminal Minds,” the highest-rated non-baseball telecast of the night, was down 11% to a 2.4. “CSI” earned a 1.8, down 14%.

On ABC, “The Middle” fell a tick week-to-week to a 2.1, “Back in the Game” was flat at a 1.7, and “Super Fun Night” saw a 14% drop to a 1.8. “Nashville” also had a double-digit slide. In 18-49, ABC’s highest-rated show was a rerun of “Modern Family,” which drew a 2.2.

NBC’s only original show of the night, “Revolution,” held steady with last week at a 1.4.

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Twitter: @rfaughnder

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com