World Series Final Ratings Fall From 2011 to 15.5 Million

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It may always be America's pastime, but it's not its most-watched sport.

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Baseball was dwarfed by football on Sunday night, with the fast national ratings for the final game of the World Series falling from last year. The fourth outing of the sweep, which went into extra innings and aired until 11:53 p.m., pulled in an average 15.5 million viewers over the course of the broadcast. Last year's Series, which went all the way to game seven, ended with a massive 25.4 million viewers

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Fox viewership fell dramatically at the end of its coverage of the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game, though the boost from overage helped it lock a win for the night against NBC's dominant Sunday Night Football.

The game posted a 8.9 rating and 14 share with households, according to Nielsen. Viewership is up two percent from last year's game four.

Averaging the entire four-game run, the 2012 World Series netted a 7.6 rating and 12.7 million viewers. That's down from last year's 10.0 rating and 16.6 million average. Still, its Fox's most-watched programming since the May finale of American Idol.

While down sharply from last year, World Series ratings are anything but consistent. Though the 2010 series had a stronger average (8.4 rating and 14.3 million), it ended on a lower note of 14.95 million in game five.