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TV ratings for Game 1 of World Series down from last year

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The World Series is off to a slower start in TV ratings compared with last year.

According to Nielsen, Tuesday night’s Game 1, in which the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-1, drew an average of 12.2 million viewers, down about 15% from last year’s Game 1 telecast.

The Fox telecast dropped to a household rating of 7.3 compared with 8.6 last year.

The ratings tied with the low 2012 series opener, in which the Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers, 8-3. The 2012 World Series, a four-game sweep of the Tigers by the Giants, was the least-watched Fall Classic ever.

Last year’s Game 1 between the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals was up 18% from 2012’s Game 1.

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Despite the ratings decline, Fox beat the other networks in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic with a rating of 3.4.

According to Fox, the game was the highest-rated and most-watched prime-time broadcast since an episode of “American Idol” in February.

In local markets, the game posted a rating of 48.2 in Kansas City, the highest for a World Series Game 1 in any market since 2007. The game also did well in San Francisco, with a rating of 29.3, followed by Sacramento at 23.0, St. Louis at 13.3 and Las Vegas at 11.1.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Kansas City.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h

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