Ratings for Major League Baseball on FOX telecasts

=1990s=

1996

In FOX's first season of Major League Baseball coverage in 1996, they averaged a 2.7 rating for its Saturday "Game of the Week". That was down 23% from CBS' 3.4 in 1993 despite the network's infamy for its rather haphazard "Game of the Week" schedule.

When FOX covered its first ever World Series in 1996, FOX announced a 17.4 Nielsen rating. In response to that, Fox Sports head David Hill said cquote|Three times our nightly norm. That's why we got into baseball [for $120 million a year] .

1998

When FOX covered Mark McGwire's 62nd home run game in prime time in September 1998, FOX got a 14.5 rating despite the fact the game was blacked out in Chicago.

2000s

2000

During the 2000 World Series that was televised by FOX, 61% of the televisions in New York watched Game 5. The next 30 largest television markets, during that same exact viewing period, registered double digit percentage losses compared to the market in New York City. The 12.4 rating for the 2000 World Series wound up being the worst in World Series history [ [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.baseball/browse_thread/thread/17a7415ba2d1fcc/b8c63dca983ee259?lnk=st&q=NBC+Major+League+Baseball&rnum=106&hl=en#b8c63dca983ee259 Subway Series Lowest Rated in History] ] . On the subject of the poor ratings, Fox Sports president Ed Goren commented, cquote|There's no question the viewership never built. Normally, through a Series, it builds from Game 1 to a Game 2, from a Game 2 to a Game 3. We would have liked to have seen higher numbers, but they are respectable in today's world.

2003

In 2003, the national ratings for FOX's Saturday baseball coverage jumped by 8% when compared to 2002. The games earned an average national rating of 2.7 with an 8 share over 18 weeks of coverage. That was up from a 2.5 rating and 8 share in 2002. It was the highest since Fox posted a 2.9 rating in 1999. Observers credited the ratings boost to FOX's decision to shift two of its broadcasts from September to May so it would not have to go against college football, although it meant reduced coverage during the final stretch of the season.

More significantly, FOX's coverage of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox averaged nearly 18.6 million households. An average of 27.5 million viewers watched Game 7, the largest average viewership for any LCS game since 1991. The game also ranked as the fourth highest-rated MLB telecast ever on FOX at the time, behind only three World Series telecasts. The game achieved a 34.4/49 in New York and a 52.9/73 in Boston, stunning figures given the size of those markets. In addition, coverage of Game 4 of the 2003 ALCS gave Major League Baseball and FOX their first-ever LCS ratings win (11.6) vs. "Monday Night Football" (8.4), out-rating ABC's prime time football telecast by 38%. Meanwhile, Game 7 of the National League Championship Series between the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs (16.9) also helped FOX produce the two highest-rated nights (October 15 and 16) of prime time programming on any network during the 2003-2004 network television season at that particular period.

In a year-to-year comparison, the overall average household rating for the 2003 League Championship Series on FOX was 65% higher than the average rating for the 2002 LCS, representing the greatest year-to-year percent increase in LCS history, and the biggest year-to-year jump for any sports event in recent history. The 2003 LCS also increased by 82% in adults 18-49 versus 2002. Overall, the 2003 League Championship Series was the most-watched LCS since 1995, and the most-viewed ever on FOX. The 11.8 prime time household rating average for League Championship Series games was also 53% higher than the household average for NBC, ABC, and CBS (7.7).

2004

On Friday, April 16, 2004, FOX tried to capitalize off of the momentum of the intense 2003 ALCS between heated rivals the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The first regular-season meeting between the two teams aired nationally from Fenway Park in prime-time.

Despite a four game World Series in 2004, FOX drew the highest World Series ratings in a decade, and its League Championship Series ratings rose sharply over the last two years, largely from another set of big-market New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox grudge matches and the regionally popular St. Louis Cardinals.

2005

In 2005, the opening game of the Chicago White Sox-Houston Astros World Series didn't even crack Nielsen Media Research's top 10 from the previous week. To add insult to injury, Game 2 was eclipsed by ABC's Sunday lineup. The first two games were seen by 15 million and 17.2 million respectively, compared to 23.2 million and 25.5 million for the opening games of the Boston-St. Louis series in 2004, Nielsen said. FOX also prospered in 2004 with the Red Sox-Yankees American League Championship Series, making the difference between the two years even more stunning. This time, both teams were eliminated in the first round. FOX's prime time average viewership for the same week in 2004 was 22 million — double its closest rival — while in 2005, Fox barely made second place with 10.6 million viewers.

The 2005 World Series averaged an 11.1 household rating/19 share and 17.2 million viewers. FOX had expected to take a hit compared with the 2004 World Series. The hit proved quite big as Series ratings were down 30% from 2004's 15.8/26 and 25.4 million viewer average, a four-game Series sweep by the Red Sox. In adults 18-49, 2005's rating was a 5.6 compared with 2004's 8.8. The 2005 World Series also had the lowest viewership ever for a World Series. It was lower than 2002's 19.3 million (Anaheim Angels-San Francisco Giants) and 2000's 18.1 million (New York Yankees-New York Mets).

An hour before the start of Game 4 of the 2005 World Series, Ed Goren said cquote|I think just to look at ratings compared to past years, there's a lot more to the story. Goren added by saying cquote|There's no question that we're facing in television the most competitive prime time season in recent memory. You have to look at how the World Series has held up versus a very strong prime time lineup across the board on any given night. In Houston, the 2005 World Series scored a 41.2/58 while in Chicago, it nabbed a 38.6/58. For the title-clinching Game 4, Chicago received a 42.5/62. Fox Sports said viewership levels in Houston and Chicago were higher than 2004's levels in Boston and St. Louis: Chicago's FOX affiliate averaged 1.32 million homes compared with the 1.22 million in Boston during the 2004 Series; 800,000 Houston homes tuned in compared with 540,000 in St. Louis in the previous year.

2006

The 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game helped gave FOX a ratings victory for the evening of July 11, as it has usually done in the past. FOX earned a 3.9 rating/12 share in the key 18-49 demo, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. This includes live viewing plus same-day viewing via digital video recorder. From the pre-game beginning at 8 p.m. ET, the telecast increased in the ratings each half-hour, going from a 3.4/12 to a 4.5/12. The 2006 All-Star Game was however, down five percent in the demo from the 2005 All-Star Game (4.3).

On a October 6, broadcast of Game 2 of the National League Division Series between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, FOX scored a 1.6 in the 8 p.m. hour with baseball. Overall, FOX finished the night with a 1.7 rating [ [http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=10860 'Grey's' Takes ABC to Thursday Ratings Win] ] . This made them dead last in the night (they even finished behind The CW with a 1.8).

The five Division Series games televised by FOX averaged a 4.9 rating, down from 2005's 6.6 [ [http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bbratings17oct17,1,3174520.story?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true Fewer Eyes on Baseball's Prize] ] . Two of the four first-round series ended in three-game sweeps, and the other two were over in four games. Then, the Detroit Tigers easily swept the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series. Game 3 of the ALCS drew an overnight 5.7, down from a 6.5 for Game 4 of the 2005 American League Championship Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Game 4 got only a 6.4 national overnight rating with a 10 share. The comparable game in 2005 based on date — Game 5 of the ALCS — got an overnight 8.8/14.

Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals earned FOX 2.4 rating among the 18-49 age demographic [ [http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings101206,0,25217.story 'Anatomy' Helps ABC to Thursday Split] ] . Overall, they earned a 5.6 rating for the night of Thursday, October 12. Game 2 of the NLCS on Friday night drew a 6.1 national rating, down slightly from a 6.2 for Game 2 of the 2005 NLCS. In contrast, NBC beat FOX with the game shows "1 vs. 100" (which drew a 7.8/13) and "Deal or No Deal" (which got a 7.3/13). Game 4 on Sunday night came in number four, well behind the front-runner, "Desperate Housewives" (which got a 13.6/19) on ABC.

Game 1 [ [http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?s=fd5868b15121faaf087b5111118c6887&showtopic=3115914&st=3720# Fox`s Series ratings from last night: not promising] ] of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers on Saturday, October 21, got an 8.6 household rating/15 share in Nielsen's metered market overnights. This was a 25% drop from the 11.4/19 for the opener of the Chicago White Sox-Houston Astros matchup in 2005.

Game 2 of the World Series earned a 10.5/16 for FOX at 8 p.m. [ [http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings102206,0,287362.story World Series Captures Sunday for FOX] ] After losing to "Desperate Housewives" in the 9:00 p.m. hour, FOX returned to the lead at 10 p.m. with a 10.1/16. Meanwhile, NFL overruns and the World Series pre-game show scored a 9.6/16 for FOX at 7 p.m.

Game 3 [ [http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings102406,0,680580.story Fall Classic Falls to ABC Tuesday] ] helped FOX tie with ABC for the lead among adults 18-49, each drawing a 4.2 rating in the key ad demographic. Game 3 of the World Series (including a pre-game show) started out with a 7.7/12 for FOX. FOX took over at 10 p.m. as its baseball coverage scored a 9.7/16.

Through the first three games of the 2006 World Series, FOX earned a 9.9 rating/17 share, which is the lowest ever [ [http://www.dbsforums.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=4556708&postcount=59 The numbers keep on falling #59] ] .

Game 4 on Thursday earned FOX a 9.4 rating/15 share in prime time to win the night. [ [http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings102606,0,1073798.story World Series Powers FOX Thursday] ]

St. Louis' 4-2 victory in Friday night's finale got a 10.3/18 in figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research [ [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/15880972.htm World Series ratings hit record low] ] , just above the record low for a Game 5, a 10.0/17 for the San Francisco Giants' 16-4 rout of the Anaheim Angels in 2002. In St. Louis, World Series Game 5 got a 51.7/71 and the Series averaged a 48.9/65. Detroit got a 34.3/50 for Game 5 and averaged 36.9/53 for the Series. The Cardinals' five-game victory over the Detroit Tigers averaged a record-low 10.1 television rating and 17 share. Games 1 (8.0), 3 (10.2) and 4 (10.4) also were record lows for their games, and Game 2 (11.6) was above the low of 11.1, set the year before. cquote|We are in the business of winning nights and the World Series consistently helps FOX achieve this goal, Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. cquote|There is also no questioning the tremendous yearly promotional power that one of the worlds greatest sporting events and its 15.8 million viewers per night provides the network.

2007

For the 2007 regular season, FOX averaged 2.3 rating for 26 regular season telecasts. That's the lowest average for Major League Baseball on broadcast television since at least 1987 [ [http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/2007/10/mlb-on-fox-sets-record-low.html 2007 MLB on FOX average lowest since at least '87.] ] (when the over-the-air, nationally televised games were on ABC and NBC), and likely the lowest average ever. The 2.3 average marked a 4% decline from the 2.4 average for 18 regular season telecasts in 2006, and a 12% decline from the 2.6 average for 18 regular season games in 2005.

References

ee also

*"Major League Baseball on FOX"

ources

* [http://baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/asgtv.shtml All-Star Game - TV Analysis & Ratings]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/ws/wstv.shtml World Series - TV Analysis & Ratings]
* [http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/search/label/MLB Sports Media Watch]