The World Series continues to score on Fox, with preliminary returns giving the fifth game between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals a tentative 3.8 rating with adults 18-49 and 13.2 million viewers. That demo rating, which currently has it tied with NBC, is almost certain to rise with time zone adjustments. (Last year's Game 5, which also scored a 3.8 in early returns, rose to a 4.2 rating.) In viewership, the game is already pacing ahead of last year's comparable outing by 2 percent.
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Despite the increased competition, The Voice remained steady on NBC, averaging a 4.2 rating among adults 18-49 -- losing just a tenth of a point from last week. The Blacklist, which continues to dominate fellow freshmen dramas in Live+Seven and Live+Three returns, improved by a tenth for a 3.1 rating in the key demo. NBC took a 3.8 rating for the night and 12.2 million viewers.
Over on CBS, a relatively steady How I Met Your Mother (2.9 adults), down just a tenth of a point, led into a slightly boosted 2 Broke Girls (2.6 adults) -- which was up by the same measure. Mom (2.1 adults) dropped two-tenths of a point from last week, while Hostages (1.3 adults) improved by a tenth of a point from last week. CBS is banking on further boosts to the lineup next week, when 9 p.m.'s Big Bang Theory encore is replaced with the return of Mike & Molly. The network posted a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers for the night.
Dancing With the Stars (2.0 adults) held even with last week's showing on ABC, while Castle (2.1 adults) improved by two-tenths of a point. The network took a 2.0 adults rating and 12.2 million viewers.
Hart of Dixie (0.4 adults) and Beauty and the Beast (0.3 adults) both retained last week's scores on The CW, giving the network a 0.4 adults rating and 999,000 viewers for the night.
