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An average of 12.7 million viewers watched the 2012 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers, the lowest average rating ever. The previous low occurred when 13.6 million viewers watched the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in five games in 2008, according to Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times.
The 2011 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers averaged 16.6 million viewers over seven games while the 2010 series between the Giants and the Texas Rangers averaged 14.2 million in five games.
In contrast, the 2009 World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies averaged over 20 million viewers.
The Giants won their second World Series in three years after defeating the Tigers 4-3 in 10-innings on Sunday to complete the sweep. Three of the last four World Series games were low-scoring affairs as the Tigers were shutout in Games 2 and 3 and only scored six runs in four games overall.