World Series Game 7's 40 Million Viewers Make It Biggest Baseball Game in 25 Years

Who was the bigger winner last night: the Chicago Cubs or Fox Sports?

OK, it was the Cubs, but let us make a case for those who pay for the World Series rights. Game 7 of the 2016 Fall Classic was the most-watched baseball game in 25 years, scoring a massive 40.045 million total viewers. In households, the number was a towering 21.8 rating/37 share. Those figures are up 70 percent (total viewers) and 58 percent (household rating) versus 2014’s World Series Game 7 (San Francisco Giants-Kansas City Royals).

The previously referenced Game 7 of the 1991 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins put up an incredible 50.3 million total viewers — that’s still the most-watched baseball telecast in Fox Sports’ history.

Also Read: 'Parks and Recreation' Predicted the Cubs' World Series Win

Read all about broadcast primetime’s fast national TV ratings here, and Game 7’s overnight numbers here. The ring-clinching Chicago Cubs victory crushed ABC’s 50th annual CMA Awards, sending the country music celebration crashing to all-time lows.

The win over the Cleveland Indians gave the Chicago squad its first Major League Baseball championship in 108 years. The dramatic series saw the Cubs coming back from being 3-1 games down before they pulled off a Game 5 win in Chicago Sunday night and followed it up taking Game 6 in Cleveland.

Wednesday’s instant classic contest ran way past prime’s 11 p.m. ET cutoff, finally ending at 12:47 a.m. ET. The game actually peaked between 11:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. ET, which earned a 27.1/48 household rating. The Cubs ultimately needed 10 innings and a 17-minute rain delay to finally defeat the scrappy Indians by 8-7.

#FlyTheW: Stars Who Are Long-Suffering Chicago Cubs Fans (Photos)

The Chicago Cubs are tied 1-1 in the Best of 7 National League Championship Series against the LA Dodgers. If the Cubs win, they will break a curse and go to the World Series for the first time since a smelly goat was denied entry to Wrigley Field in 1945.
Bill Murray
A favorite subject of the cameras at Wrigley Field, Bill Murray can often be seen frowning in concentration at various Cubs games. Most recently seen: gamely pounding back beer for the cameras in Game 1 of the NLCS series against the Dodgers.
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Eddie Vedder
The Pearl Jam frontman is such a die-hard Cubbies fan, he even wrote a song ("All the Way") for them, and announced Pearl Jam would no longer be touring in October, just in case the Cubs made it to the postseason.
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John Cusack
The Chicago native has been a lifelong Cubs fan and a fixture at Wrigley Field for about as long, and when asked tough questions about his team, knows all the answers.
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Hillary Clinton
From wearing Cubs gear to attending games to teaming up with players for charity, the Chicago native and maybe first female President of the United States is a well-documented fan, who even got her own personalized jersey for her 50th birthday.
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Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins lead singer and Chicago native is such a dedicated Cubs fan that he has criticized fellow rocker Eddie Vedder for not being a good fan ... those sound like fighting words.
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Nick Offerman
".@Cubs I love you," the "Parks and Rec" star tweeted last week. "#FlyTheW" The official team account replied back "And we love you."
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Jake Johnson
The "New Girl" star has live-tweeted Cubs games, saying during the NLDS series-clinching game against the Giants, "I honestly thought I was having a mild heart attack in the bottom of the 9th. I'm not sure I can survive this October."
Fox
Gary Sinise
The "CSI: New York" star is a Chicago native so naturally a longtime Cubs fan. He, like many of his fellow famous fans, has partaken in leading the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch.
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The Chicago Cubs have some of the most loyal fans around, including Hillary Clinton, Bill Murray and John Cusack among the most famous

The Chicago Cubs are tied 1-1 in the Best of 7 National League Championship Series against the LA Dodgers. If the Cubs win, they will break a curse and go to the World Series for the first time since a smelly goat was denied entry to Wrigley Field in 1945.

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World Series Game 7’s 40 Million Viewers Make It Biggest Baseball Game in 25 Years

#FlyTheW: Stars Who Are Long-Suffering Chicago Cubs Fans (Photos)

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#FlyTheW: Stars Who Are Long-Suffering Chicago Cubs Fans (Photos)

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