RATINGS RISE FOR START OF 2013 WORLD SERIES

Ratings for Game One of the 2013 World Series were up sharply from last year, averaging 13.73 million viewers versus last year’s 12.7 million, despite a blowout victory by the Boston Red Sox. Unsurprisingly, the game peaked in the middle innings, with an average of 14.96 million watching between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. However, last year’s Series proved to be the lowest-rated in history, and last night’s numbers were actually down from the average 14.2 million who tuned in in 2011. (Ratings for the annual contest peaked in 1978 when 44.28 million watched the New York Yankees play the Los Angeles Dodgers.) CBS proved to be the strongest competitor, posting an average of 11.56 million viewers for Criminal Minds at 9:00 pm., just ahead of ABC’s Modern Family at 9:00 p.m., which drew 10.29 million viewers, but way ahead of ABC’s