World Series Game 1 Ratings Down 25 Percent

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The World Series' television ratings are off to a slow start.

The San Francisco Giants' 11-7 win over the Texas Rangers in Game 1 on Fox on Wednesday night earned an 8.9 rating and 15 share. That's down 25 percent from the 11.9 for last year's Yankees-Phillies opener. It's also down 3 percent from the 9.2 for Phillies-Rays Game 1 in the 2008 World Series, which went on to average a record-low rating.

Commissioner Bud Selig insisted it was a "very good start."

"Look, I think there's enormous interest," he said. "I think both these teams are very attractive for a myriad of reasons. I know Fox was happy, and we were happy."

Fox said Thursday that the rating peaked at 10.4/16 at 9:30 p.m. EDT before declining after the Giants pulled away with a six-run fifth inning.

About 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the New York area — out of the country's nearly 115 million homes with televisions — were unable to watch the game because of the company's ongoing dispute with Fox.

The game drew a 35.9/60 in San Francisco and a 33.9/51 in Dallas.

The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.