Dodgers fans react as they watch the World Series baseball match between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays on a big screen in the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium, Oct 27, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.  (FREDERIC J BROWN / AFP)

Major League Baseball’s World Series, won by the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time since 1988, drew an average of 9.79 million TV viewers over six nights, a 30 percent decline from the seven games last year.

Live sports was once viewed as a sure thing in a broadcast TV world increasingly losing viewers to online streaming and other forms of entertainment

The audience for US baseball’s annual championship has been falling since the late 1970s and early 1980s, when 40 million or more people regularly tuned in.

Sports of all stripes have seen viewer numbers decline due in part to the coronavirus, which forced many of them to play shortened seasons and compete with one another for TV viewers at the same time.

Viewers also have been more focused on TV news -- whether it’s coverage of the presidential election or the global pandemic. And protests against law enforcement by players may have turned some fans away.

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In this Oct 25, 2020 photo, Manuel Margot #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays is tagged out by Austin Barnes #15 of the Los Angeles Dodgers on an attempt to steal home as umpire Marvin Hudson #51 makes the out call during the fourth inning in Game Five of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. (TOM PENNINGTON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays four games to two in a series that was played on the neutral ground of the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas Fox Corp, which aired the series on its main broadcast network, reported the Nielsen ratings Wednesday in a statement.

Live sports was once viewed as a sure thing in a broadcast TV world increasingly losing viewers to online streaming and other forms of entertainment. But this year, the audience for the NBA finals slumped 51 percent and it tumbled 61 percent for the NHL’s Stanley Cup championship.

In this Oct 24, 2020 photo, Randy Arozarena #56 of the Tampa Bay Rays slides into home plate during the ninth inning to score the game winning run to give his team the 8-7 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Four of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. (TOM PENNINGTON / AFP)