The most-watched baseball game in 25 years helped FOX to the top of the broadcast ratings for the week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
Game 7 of the World Series between two long-suffering teams, the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, brought huge numbers to the network — a 12.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 40.05 million viewers. Both numbers were the best for anything on TV since the Super Bowl in February. It also helped FOX lead the network race for the second week in a row.
The top non-sports show of the week was “The Big Bang Theory,” which tied for fifth in adults 18-49 (3.1) and was fourth in viewers (14.18 million).
Here are the network standings for the week (season-to-date numbers and full Spanish-language numbers weren’t accessible at posting time; we’ll update when we have them).
| Oct. 31-Nov. 6 | ABC | CBS | CW | FOX | NBC |
| Adults 18-49 rating/share (rank) | 1.4/5 (4) | 1.7/6 (3) | 0.5/2 (5) | 3.7/12 (1) | 1.9/7 (2) |
| Viewers (millions) (rank) | 6.09 (4) | 8.68 (2) | 1.43 (5) | 12.28 (1) | 6.87 (3) |
Here are the program rankings:
Top 25 broadcast shows (including ties) in adults 18-49 for Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2016
| Rank | Show | Net | Day | Time | 18-49 Rating | 18-49 Viewers (000s) |
| 1 | WORLD SERIES GM 7 – CUBS/INDIANS | FOX | Weds. | 7:58 PM | 12.6 | 16,189 |
| 2 | WORLD SERIES GM 6 – CUBS/INDIANS | FOX | Tues. | 8:04 PM | 6.6 | 8,500 |
| SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – BRONCOS/RAIDERS | NBC | Sun. | 8:32 PM | 6.6 | 8,466 | |
| 4 | FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PT 3 | NBC | Sun. | 7:54 PM | 3.4 | 4,396 |
| 5 | COLLEGE FOOTBALL – ALABAMA/LSU | CBS | Sat. | 8:00 PM | 3.1 | 3,994 |
| THE BIG BANG THEORY | CBS | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 3.1 | 3,939 | |
| 7 | CMA AWARDS – S | ABC | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 2.9 | 3,673 |
| 8 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | Sun. | 7:50 PM | 2.4 | 3,060 |
| 9 | THIS IS US | NBC | Tues. | 9:00 PM | 2.3 | 2,964 |
| 10 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 2.1 | 2,684 |
| THE VOICE | NBC | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 2.1 | 2,631 | |
| 12 | THE GREAT INDOORS | CBS | Thurs. | 8:31 PM | 1.6 | 2,093 |
| WORLD SERIES PREGAME | FOX | Tues. | 7:30 PM | 1.6 | 2,089 | |
| SURVIVOR | CBS | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 1.6 | 1,994 | |
| 15 | AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE | ABC | Tues. | 8:30 PM | 1.5 | 1,943 |
| FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PT 2 | NBC | Sun. | 7:30 PM | 1.5 | 1,913 | |
| DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 1.5 | 1,905 | |
| THE VOICE | NBC | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 1.5 | 1,886 | |
| CHICAGO FIRE | NBC | Tues. | 10:00 PM | 1.5 | 1,867 | |
| 20 | SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FB – NEBRASKA/OHIO ST | ABC | Sat. | 8:07 PM | 1.4 | 1,842 |
| THE MIDDLE | ABC | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 1.4 | 1,797 | |
| THE SIMPSONS | FOX | Sun. | 8:00 PM | 1.4 | 1,776 | |
| NCIS: LOS ANGELES | CBS | Sun. | 8:50 PM | 1.4 | 1,740 | |
| 24 | CHICAGO MED | NBC | Thurs. | 9:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,697 |
| 2 BROKE GIRLS | CBS | Mon. | 9:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,677 | |
| KEVIN CAN WAIT | CBS | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 1.3 | 1,674 | |
| LIFE IN PIECES | CBS | Thurs. | 9:30 PM | 1.3 | 1,644 | |
| MAN WITH A PLAN | CBS | Mon. | 8:30 PM | 1.3 | 1,639 | |
| MOM | CBS | Thurs. | 9:01 PM | 1.3 | 1,627 |
Top 25 broadcast shows in viewers for Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2016
| Rank | Show | Net | Day | Time | Viewers (000s) |
| 1 | WORLD SERIES GM 7 – CUBS/INDIANS | FOX | Weds. | 7:58 PM | 40,047 |
| 2 | WORLD SERIES GM 6 – CUBS/INDIANS | FOX | Tues. | 8:04 PM | 23,398 |
| 3 | SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – BRONCOS/RAIDERS | NBC | Sun. | 8:32 PM | 18,325 |
| 4 | THE BIG BANG THEORY | CBS | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 14,178 |
| 5 | 60 MINUTES | CBS | Sun. | 7:50 PM | 14,047 |
| 6 | CMA AWARDS – S | ABC | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 12,498 |
| 7 | NCIS – R | CBS | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 10,446 |
| 8 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 10,390 |
| 9 | COLLEGE FOOTBALL – ALABAMA/LSU | CBS | Sat. | 8:00 PM | 10,385 |
| 10 | NCIS: LOS ANGELES | CBS | Sun. | 8:50 PM | 10,256 |
| 11 | FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PT 3 | NBC | Sun. | 7:54 PM | 10,129 |
| 12 | BLUE BLOODS | CBS | Fri. | 10:00 PM | 9,761 |
| 13 | HAWAII FIVE-0 | CBS | Fri. | 9:00 PM | 9,477 |
| 14 | THE VOICE | NBC | Mon. | 8:00 PM | 9,475 |
| 15 | THIS IS US | NBC | Tues. | 9:00 PM | 8,480 |
| 16 | MADAM SECRETARY | CBS | Sun. | 9:50 PM | 8,238 |
| 17 | THE GREAT INDOORS | CBS | Thurs. | 8:31 PM | 8,056 |
| 18 | BULL – R | CBS | Tues. | 9:00 PM | 8,040 |
| 19 | GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | Thurs. | 8:00 PM | 7,599 |
| 20 | MACGYVER | CBS | Fri. | 8:00 PM | 7,591 |
| 21 | NCIS: NEW ORLEANS – R | CBS | Tues. | 10:00 PM | 7,033 |
| 22 | SURVIVOR | CBS | Weds. | 8:00 PM | 6,934 |
| 23 | THE VOICE | NBC | Tues. | 8:00 PM | 6,864 |
| 24 | MOM | CBS | Thurs. | 9:01 PM | 6,846 |
| 25 | CHICAGO MED | NBC | Thurs. | 9:00 PM | 6,833 |
All numbers are live + same-day. Source: The Nielsen Company.
