Fox earned a 9.4/14 national rating for its coverage of
Game Five of the ALCS, marking a 34% improvement on Fox's
Game Five coverage of the '96 NLCS during a similar time
slot of a Monday night. The rating also beat Fox's Monday
night season-to-date 7.1 primetime average by 32%. Through
four primetime telecasts, Fox's ALCS coverage has averaged
9.1, up 7% over its coverage of the '96 NLCS which earned an
8.5 average (Fox Sports). The AP's David Bauder reports
that "[h]elped by the [MLB] playoffs, Fox continued to be
the only major television network to see an increase in
viewers" during the fall season. Last week, Fox's four top-
rated shows were baseball playoff games (AP, 10/15).
SKINNING THE O'S: In the Washington area, the Redskins
won the "local battle of the airwaves" on Monday, with ABC's
Cowboys-Redskins "Monday Night Football" game receiving a
31.6/49 local rating, while Fox's ALCS Game Five received an
18.4/28 (WASHINGTON POST, 10/15)....In Northeast Ohio, Game
Five of the ALCS on WJW-TV earned a 50.0/68, which was
"slightly lower" than Game Four, 51.1, but higher than the
first three games. Through five games, the series is
averaging a 42.5 (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 10/15).
