The Big Lead

World Series news: Huge audience saw Dodgers' Freddie Freeman slam Yankees in Game 1

By J.P. Hoornstra

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Fox Sports field reporter Ken Rosenthal interviews Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after the win against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium.
Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Fox Sports field reporter Ken Rosenthal interviews Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after the win against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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Freddie Freeman didn't hit the only grand slam at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

Fox Sports reported that an average of 15.2 million viewers tuned in to watch or stream Game 1 of the World Series across its platforms, including Fox, Fox Deportes, and Univision. The audience peaked at 17.8 million viewers from 8:30 p.m. local time until the conclusion; at 8:37 p.m. Freeman hit the first walkoff grand slam in World Series history.

It was the most-watched World Series Game 1 since 2017, when the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Houston Astros, and a tremendous improvement over the audience for Game 1 between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers in 2023.

That game drew 9.352 million, per Fox, and wound up becoming the least-watched World Series of all-time.

The game drew a 19.1 rating in the Los Angeles market — 58 percent of all households — and a 13.2 rating in New York.

Dodger fans were rewarded handsomely for their viewership. The final call by play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis ("She is ... gone!") made for a perfect tribute to Vin Scully's call of Kirk Gibson's walkoff home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. The parallels between that home run and Freeman's ran even deeper than the call.

Fox previously announced its viewership for the Dodgers-Mets National League Championship Series was the highest-rated LCS since 2019. MLB's star-studded playoff field included the nation's two largest media markets. The ratings have yet to disappoint.

Neither did Game 1 of the World Series — at least in Los Angeles.

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