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 Viewership for the World Series remains strong following Yankees' 8-5 victory over the Phillies in Game 3 on Saturday night.
The game, which saw a 1 hour and 20 min rain delay, was going up against the USC, Oregon game on ABC, and didn't see first pitch until 9:17 p.m. ET still managed to be the second highest watched game of this year's Word Series, and more importantly, pulled in strong numbers: 15.4 million viewers, up 57 percent from last year's Game 3 World Series between the Rays and Phillies.
The 57 percent increase year-to-year marks the largest ever in compariable World Series games in primetime (it should be noted that the 2008 World Series was the lowest rated World Series on record since Nielsen began tracking the data).
Likewise, through three games, the World Series has averaged 17.9 million viewers, an increase of 46 percent from last year's World Series.
Why the increase? Several factors are at work:
- The match-up between the Phillies and Yankees is seen as exceptionally good.
- The Tampa Bay Rays did not resonate nationally in 2008.
- The return of the New York Yankees to the World Series; MLB's strongest brand and a team that garners big ratings numbers nationally.
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