World Series ratings up over 2012 but behind NFL

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Boston's 4-2 win over St. Louis in Game 4 of the World Series drew a slightly higher rating than San Francisco's title clincher last year but was topped by Green Bay's 44-31 win over Minnesota in a regular-season NFL game.

Nielsen Media Research said Monday the game on Fox received a 9.4 rating and 15 share and was seen by an average of 16 million viewers. The rating was up 6 percent from the 8.9 for San Francisco's 4-3, 10-inning victory at Detroit last year, which completed a sweep and was the highest-rated World Series game since Game 4 between the Yankees and Phillies in 2009.

The NFL game drew a 9.8/15 and 16.9 million viewers on NBC. The network said it was the third time in four years the Sunday night NFL telecast beat the World Series head to head.

The first four games of the World Series averaged an 8.4/14 and 14 million viewers, The rating was up 11 percent from the record-low 7.6/12 for last year's Series.

Fox said Sunday night's game was its highest-rated prime-time broadcast since the season premiere of "American Idol" in January.

The game received a 46.7/66 in the St. Louis market and a 34.7/55 in Boston.

The rating is the percentage of U.S. television households tuned to a program. The share is the percentage watching a broadcast among those homes with TVs on at the time.