Ratings: ‘Chicago Fire’ Slips Without Jesse Spencer – and Facing the World Series

World Series Game 2 was no Game 1 in terms of the earliest-available Nielsen numbers, but Fox still easily won Wednesday’s primetime period. NBC finished second with its Wednesday trio of “Chicago” shows, including the first “Chicago Fire” without Jesse Spencer.

The Houston Astros won Game 2 last night 7-2, evening up the series with the Atlanta Braves.

Due to the nature of live sports, the below Nielsen numbers for Fox should be considered subject to significant adjustment.

Fox was first in ratings with a 1.8 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 8.9 million, according to preliminary numbers. Those were the 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. averages of Game 2, and were down from Game 1’s comparable numbers from Tuesday night, when the 2021 Fall Classic opener earned a 2.3 demo rating and 10.1 million total viewers.

NBC was second in ratings with a 0.7 and in total viewers with 6.2 million. “Chicago Med” at 8 p.m. posted a 0.7 rating and 6.6 million total viewers. “Chicago Fire” put up the same (rounded) Nielsen numbers in the 9 o’clock hour. At 10, “Chicago P.D.” also had a 0.7 rating, but declined to 5.5 million total viewers.

CBS was third in ratings with a 0.5 and in total viewers with 3.7 million. “Survivor” at 8 landed a 0.8 rating and 5 million total viewers. At 9, “Tough as Nails” had a 0.4 rating and 2.8 million total viewers. “CSI: Vegas” at 10 got a 0.3 rating and 3.3 million total viewers.

ABC was fourth in ratings with a 0.4 and in total viewers with 2.4 million. “The Goldbergs” at 8 received a 0.5 rating and 3.1 million total viewers. At 8:30, “The Wonder Years” had a 0.4 rating and 2.5 million total viewers. “The Conners” at 9 got a 0.5 rating and 3.2 million total viewers. At 9:30, “Home Economics” finished off ABC’s comedy block with a 0.3 rating and 1.9 million total viewers. At 10, drama “A Million Little Things” closed out primetime to the same Nielsen numbers as its lead-in.

The CW was fifth in ratings with a 0.1 and in total viewers with 468,000. “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” at 8 had a 0.1 rating and 537,000 total viewers. At 9, “Batwoman” got a 0.1 rating and 399,000 total viewers.

We do not have early Nielsen numbers for Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.