World Series Game 1 Rating: 8.0, Lowest in MLB History

San Francisco 7, Kansas City 1 was devoid of drama, never close, and as a result, TV viewers didn’t tune in or stick around. Early reports are that the overnight TV rating for Game 1 was the lowest in World Series history: An 8.0.

An overnight TV rating isn’t complete, obviously, so that number could go up (or down). The lowest overnight rating for a Game 1 previously was an 8.8 in 2012 when the Giants met the Tigers.

[Obligatory, for the peanut gallery: Ratings don’t matter, these numbers mean very little, it wasn’t a close game, etc. Got it? Good.]

This seems like a good time to mention that Fox put all of its eggs (read: marketing dollars) in the MLB basket this postseason in an effort to pump up Fox Sports 1. Ratings for postseason MLB games on FS1 have been great by the network’s standards, but that isn’t saying much. (More on FS1 – good news! – coming later today at The Big Lead.)

It’s obviously very early, but without a team from the East Coast, and no major must-see stars in the World Series, this rating trend could continue tonight and into the weekend. Fox executives will no-doubt be clad in royal blue tonight, rooting for Kansas City to make it a series.