World Series outdraws 'Sunday Night Football,' falls short of Rams-Packers ratings

The ratings are in from Sunday’s big sports day on TV, and there are positives to take away for both the NFL and MLB.

The Boston Red Sox’ World Series clincher in Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers went head-to-head with a prime “Sunday Night Football” matchup that saw the New Orleans Saints top the Minnesota Vikings.

World Series tops ‘SNF,’ bested by Rams-Packers

Game 5 on FOX came out on top in that tilt with a 12.3 overnight rating compared a 9.3 rating for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” according to a USA Today report on Monday.

But the NFL had the big winner of the day, scoring a 15.0 rating for Sunday afternoon’s clash between the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers on FOX that led into the network’s World Series coverage.

NFL continues ratings upswing through 8 weeks

The big NFL number continues an uptrend that has seen ratings rise this season after declines in consecutive years.

Teams like the Rams and Kansas City Chiefs with high-powered offenses are putting on exciting shows every week while competitive, back-and-forth games have been the norm for prime-time matchups. As it turns out, people like watching fun football.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus touted both teams as reasons for the uptick in viewership this year.

“There have been a lot of really good storylines, McManus told USA Today. “Young quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes playing well, the Los Angeles Rams have driven a lot of interest and there have been several overtime games. The NFL has and for the foreseeable future will be the strongest programming on television.”

NBC is biggest ratings benefactor

According to the report, NBC has been the biggest benefactor of the ratings upswing, seeing a 6 percent increase over last season for “Sunday Night Football” through eight weeks.

Meanwhile, NFL ratings on CBS are up more than 3 percent from last season, while ESPN has seen a better than 1 percent increase for “Monday Night Football.”

Ratings for Sunday games on FOX have remained flat compared to last year, a trend that USA Today attributes to the network lobbying to put more of its marquee matchups on “Thursday Night Football” after it acquired the package for those games.

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