Last night's Game Five of the Red Sox-Indians ALDS
earned a 10.9/17 preliminary overnight Nielsen rating on
Fox. The game earned a 39.1/54 on WJW in Cleveland and a
33.7/49 on WFTX in Boston. The Jaguars-Jets "MNF" game on
ABC earned a 10.6/17 overnight, down 40% from last year's
17.8/27, which had no MLB competition (THE DAILY).
MLB PLAYOFFS: In Boston, Howard Manly reviews Fox's
broadcast of last night's Red Sox-Indians game and writes
analyst Tim McCarver "was on top [of] his game. He was
funny, critical, and smart." Saturday's Game Three earned a
17.4/38 local Boston rating on WFTX and Sunday's Game Four
earned a 20.4/33. Game Three earned a 30.8/56 local
Cleveland rating on WJW-Fox, while Game Four pulled a
27.6/40 (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/12). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
writes that MLB divisional playoff ratings are off about 5%
on NBC, Fox and ESPN, but football ratings remain "strong."
CBS' Sunday NFL games were up 14% to 11.9, while Fox's were
up 13% to 13.9. Overnight ratings for Fox and NBC's three
weekend prime-time MLB games were down 19% to average a 7.1.
But ESPN2's D'Backs-Mets Game Four on Saturday earned a 2.7
overnight, which "might be the most-watched event in its
history" (USA TODAY, 10/12). In national ratings through
Thursday, MLB playoffs "were down modestly from last year on
the broadcast nets (7.7/13 vs. last year's 8.1/14) and on
ESPN (3.0 vs. 3.2)" (DAILY VARIETY, 10/12). In N.Y.,
Richard Sandomir reports that despite the late start times
of the Mets-D'Backs games last week, "local fans watched."
WPIX-WB's local simulcast of ESPN's production of last
Wednesday's Game Two earned a 6.4, which combined with ESPN
and KTVK-Phoenix, means that 2.6 million TV HHs watched the
game. Meanwhile, the primetime Red Sox-Indians Game One
drew 8.3 million HHs. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, on the
late start times: "We've agonized over this and prefer not
to do it. But remember, it's only two games. The rest are
all on in daytime or prime time." Selig added, "Starting
games a half-hour earlier is something we can think about"
(N.Y. TIMES, 10/12). Mike Lupica, on the 11:00pm ET start
times: "Starting those games at that time, two nights in a
row, was incredibly stupid." Dick Schaap: "It wasn't just
the kids who couldn't stay up that late. I kept falling
asleep" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 10/10).
SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE? In Dallas, Barry Horn wrote
that "viewers appear to be tiring of the Rangers' post-
season act," as the team's local ratings went "downhill" as
they were swept by the Yankees. In '96, three Rangers'
prime time games averaged a 28.2 rating and last season's
three-game sweep averaged a 20.5 rating. But last Tuesday's
Game One earned a 15.7/24 in the Dallas area, while Game Two
on Thursday earned a 17.4 (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/9).
SUBWAY SERIES=BIG RATINGS? DAILY VARIETY's John Dempsey
cites analysts who feel a Subway Series would "be unlikely
to generate the major league ratings that NBC is banking
on." Y&R Media Edge Exec VP & Dir of U.S. Broadcast Bob
Igiel: "The World Series has to have more geographical
diversity. New Yorkers would love a Yankees-Mets series,
but it just wouldn't ignite as much national interest."
Pilson Communications' Neal Pilson feels that Yankees-Braves
would be "the ideal matchup" (DAILY VARIETY, 10/12).
