Fox's coverage of the World Series finally became a big winner Wednesday night, dominating primetime programming with a 15.6 rating and a 24 share, peaking at 17.3/31 in the 11:30 p.m. half hour, according to Nielsen overnights.

By contrast, NBC was well behind in second place with a 10.9/16. Nevertheless, the numbers fell considerably below last year's 17.8/29 average.

The national figures this year have been boosted by Super Bowl-like ratings for each of the games in New York City, but throughout the country, the New York-New York rivalry is shaping up as the lowest-rated Series on record. Although the Yankees won Wednesday night's game, putting them in position to take the Series tonight, the Yankees' real rival is likely to be NBC's Thursday-night powerhouse schedule.

Source: Studio Briefing