As expected, the 2008 Fall Classic ended up as the lowest rated on record.  It’s easy to blame the weather-related delays for these levels, but this was pacing as the least-watched ever before the rain wreaked havoc.

Also, this was the oldest skewing World Series ever - really a disaster for FOX and a harbinger of bad things to come for MLB.

World Series Averages
1968-2008
# of   RATINGS        
Year - Teams Date Net Games HH M18-49 M18-34 P2+ (000) M2+ M18-49 Skew Med. Age
     
1968 - Detroit/St. Louis NBC 7 22.8          
1969 - NYM/Baltimore NBC 5 22.4          
1970 - Baltimore/Cincinnati NBC 5 19.4          
1971 - Pittsburgh/Baltimore NBC 7 24.2          
1972 - Oakland/Cincinnati NBC 7 27.6          
1973 - Oakland/NYM NBC 7 30.7     34750    
1974 - Oakland/LAD NBC 5 25.6     29080    
1975 - Cincinnati/Boston NBC 7 28.7     35960    
1976 - Cincinnati/NYY NBC 4 27.5     34720    
1977 - NYY/LAD ABC 6 29.8     37150    
1978 - NYY/LAD NBC 6 32.8     44278    
1979 - Pittsburgh/Baltimore ABC 7 28.5     37960    
1980 - Philadelphia/KC NBC 6 32.8     42300    
1981 - LAD/NYY ABC 6 30.0     41370    
1982 - St. Louis/Milwaukee NBC 7 27.9     38070    
1983 - Baltimore/Philadelphia ABC 5 23.3     29540    
1984 - Detroit/San Diego NBC 5 22.9     28010    
1985 - KC/St. Louis ABC 7 25.3     34510    
1986 - NYM/Boston NBC 7 28.6     36370    
1987 - Minnesota/St. Louis ABC 7 24.0     35340    
1988 - LAD/Oakland NBC 5 23.9     34490    
1989 - Oakland/SF ABC 4 16.4     24550    
1990 - Cincinnati/Oakland CBS 4 20.8     30240    
1991 - Minnesota/Atlanta 10/19-10/27 CBS 7 24.0 17.2 14.6 35674 58 61 45
1992 - Toronto/Atlanta 10/17-10/24 CBS 6 20.2 14.1 11.2 30006 59 61 45
1993 - Toronto/Philly 10/16-10/23 CBS 6 17.3 11.6 9.9 24703 60 63 48
1995 - Atlanta/Cleveland 10/21-10/28 NBC/ABC 6 19.5 13.9 11.5 28973 60 62 46
1996 - NYY/Atlanta 10/20-10/26 FOX 6 17.4 12.2 10.4 25215 61 63 46
1997 - Florida/Cleveland 10/18-10/26 NBC  7 16.7 12.1 10.4 24793 60 62 46
1998 - NYY/SD 10/17-10/21 FOX 4 14.1 10.0 8.5 20344 62 65 46
1999 - NYY/Atlanta 10/23-10/27 NBC 4 16.0 10.5 8.5 23730 60 61 48
2000 - NYY/NYM 10/21-10/26 FOX 5 12.4 9.5 8.2 18107 64 66 46
2001 - Arizona/NYY 10/27-11/04 FOX 7 15.7 10.9 8.7 24527 61 63 48
2002 - Anaheim/SF 10/19-10/27 FOX 7 11.9 8.6 6.8 19261 62 65 48
2003 - Florida/NYY 10/18-10/25 FOX 6 12.8 8.8 7.2 20143 62 63 48
2004 - Boston/St. Louis 10/23-10/27 FOX 4 15.8 10.7 8.1 25390 59 60 48
2005 - Chicago/Houston 10/22-10/26 FOX 4 11.1 7.5 6.2 17162 63 66 50
2006 - St. Louis/Detroit 10/21-10/27 FOX 5 10.1 6.4 5.2 15812 64 66 51
2007 - Boston/Colorado 10/24-10/28 FOX 4 10.6 7.0 5.8 16940 62 62 50
2008 - Philadelphia/Tampa Bay 10/22-10/29 FOX 5 8.4 5.7 4.7 13478 63 65 51
                     

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