The Chicago Cubs’ big win over the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night was also big business for the network broadcasting it, with Reuters reporting that Fox managed to pull in 40 million viewers with its broadcast of the game. The network’s coverage of game 7 of the 2016 World Series saw 69 percent of active TV sets in Cleveland tuned in, with 71 in Chicago itself, making it the second-most-watched TV event of 2016 (after the Super Bowl).
The game—which went into extra innings after Chicago gave up a three-run lead in the bottom of the 8th—had a sizable impact on other networks that night, as well. Many of them—including Comedy Central’s South Park—opted to avoid running new episodes against the Series finisher, showing reruns instead. Those that didn’t, like the Country Music Awards and CBS’s Survivor, saw themselves take massive ratings hits. According to The Atlantic, the game was the biggest TV event in Major League Baseball in 25 years, since 50 million people watched the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in their own game 7 in 1991.