Even if you haven't watched a single second of baseball in 2016, you are without a doubt aware that we're nearing the completion of the most unpredictable and important World Series in the history of the sport. Game 7, between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs, will air tonight on Fox, and a couple of other networks have made the wise decision to change their schedules up, replacing new episodes of hit shows with repeats. As of this writing, viewers will have to wait until next week to catch up with a slew of network shows. Here's the list:
NBC's BlindspotNBC's Law & Order: SVUNBC's Chicago P.D.CBS' Criminal Minds
CBS, which did something similar yesterday, will be airing a Criminal Minds repeat in place of a new episode. Interestingly, this was supposed to be the first episode with the now-fired Thomas Gibson's character Hotch off on his "extended assignment" that was written up to cover the actor's then-suspension. Also interestingly, CBS is opting not to replace new episodes of Survivor and Code Black with repeats, and fans of those shows can watch them as per usual.
Meanwhile, NBC will replace its three-show lineup with some repeats of its own. The first two episodes of this season of Law & Order: SVU will air in the first two slots, while a Chicago P.D. rerun will follow them.
There will be some sense of normalcy elsewhere on TV, though. ABC is reportedly still moving forward with its telecast of the 50th annual CMA Awards, which is good since it's way harder to postpone a live event. And The CW is at this time planning on giving Arrow and Frequency fans new episodes. That could change, though, so be sure to check your local listings closer to airtime to make sure.
The MLB may not bring in the kind of consistently killer ratings that the NFL does with its weekly contests, this World Series has made Fox pretty happy in the viewership department. Last night's relatively one-sided Game 6, in which the Cubs dominated for most of the telecast, was watched by 23.4 million people, making it the highest rated Game 6 since the 1997 match-up between the Indians and the Florida Marlins, which had a 23.7 million-strong audience. And given tonight's game is estimated to bring in around 30-35 million people, according to TVLine, it is not surprising at all that other major networks are balking at airing new episodes.
Coverage for Game 7 of the World Series will kick off on Fox at 7:00 p.m. ET, with the game itself starting up at 8:00 p.m. ET. Will you be watching along with millions of others, or are you more down for an SVU repeat? Don't let Harry Caray down.
