Cubs vs. Indians: 2016 World Series Game 7 Ratings Revealed

Wednesday night's epic World Series Game 7 between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs—won by the Cubs, 8-7—received huge ratings, according to CNBC:

Per A.J. Perez of USA Today, citing an announcement from Fox, it was the "most-watched baseball game for Fox since Game 7 of the 2001 World Series" and the network's "most-watched telecast since February's Super Bowl 50" outside of the presidential debates.

According to Oriana Schwindt of Variety, the most-watched Game 7 in the last 25 years was the 1991 classic between the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins, which pulled in a total of 50.34 million viewers on CBS.

Wednesday night's numbers made the contest the fifth-most-watched sporting event in 2016, surpassing the Rio Olympics and falling behind only the Super Bowl, the AFC Championship Game, the NFC Championship Game and the AFC divisional matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That isn't a surprise, as the NFL traditionally dominates the ratings compared to other sports.

Nor is it much of a surprise that Wednesday night's game generated huge ratings. Both the Cubs (1908) and Indians (1948) had famous World Series title droughts they were trying to erase. Additionally, the Cubs were looking to complete a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit, Cleveland was trying to win its second professional sports title this year (the Cavaliers won the NBA title in June) and Indians Game 7 starter Corey Kluber had been nearly unhittable all postseason.

The entire World Series had also been entertaining. Game 7 was arguably the most anticipated game in baseball history. And the ratings suggested as much.

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