Game Two of the Red Sox-Yankees ALCS last night earned
a 11.9/19 preliminary overnight Nielsen rating on Fox, up
23% from the comparable NLCS Padres-Braves primetime Game
Two last year, also on Fox. The game earned a 23.7/35 local
rating in N.Y. and a 34.0/51 in Boston. Game One of the
ALCS earned a 10.8 final national rating, up 74% from the
LCS Game One last year on Fox (N.Y. TIMES, 10/15). DAILY
VARIETY's Tom Bierbaum reports that playoff baseball
"continues to knock the Nielsen ball out of the park." Both
LCS Game Ones earned a 10.8, the highest primetime rating of
an LCS game since '95. The ALCS Game One drew 14.68 million
viewers and a 5.7/17 rating among adults 18-49 (DAILY
VARIETY, 10/15). In Boston, an estimated 1.8 million
viewers watched all or part of Game One. WFXT GM Greg
Kelley: "Those numbers are well beyond our expectations. To
have nearly 2 million viewers is pretty incredible" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 10/15). The three-game AL/NLCS average on Fox and
NBC of a 9.6 is up 20% over last year (USA TODAY, 10/15).
JIMY GIVES UP THE PLUG: Red Sox manager Jimy Williams
said he will no longer wear a microphone while in the
dugout. Williams was unhappy that a conversation with first
base coach Dave Jauss was aired during Game One. Williams:
"I'm just trying to do what's right for baseball. I
understand it's entertainment. ... But I can't do it
anymore. I don't feel right" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/15). Red
Sox officials "were under the impression no strategy
conversations would be used" (USA TODAY, 10/15). Red Sox
third base coach Wendell Kim wore the mic instead of
Williams during last night's game (THE DAILY). Looking
ahead to Saturday's matchup between Ps Pedro Martinez and
Roger Clemens, Fox Exec Producer Ed Goren said that the
network will pass on its commercial break in the middle of
the first inning to get the reaction of the Fenway Park
crowd as Clemens takes the mound (BOSTON HERALD, 10/15).
Yankees manager Joe Torre, on Game Three: "Roger Clemens and
Pedro Martinez at Fenway Park -- it's worth the price of
admission, there's no question, and not too many people are
going to be able to get into that ballpark. So, I think
there'll be a lot of people watching here on Fox." Tim
McCarver: "Price of admission, huh, Joe? Well, a
cardiologist, yesterday, for his son, paid $12,100 for four
tickets" (see THE DAILY, 10/14) (Fox, 10/14).
WHO'S BETTER, WHO'S BETTER, YOU BET: In DC, Leonard
Shapiro notes the "two different philosophies of production"
that have "been on display" by Fox and NBC during the LCS.
NBC is "clearly taking more of a minimalist approach,
allowing the games to unfold without too much intrusion from
all the technological gadgetry at its disposal." Meanwhile,
Fox "uses every bell and whistle in its repertoire." NBC
Sports Chair Dick Ebersol: "Our avowed interest is to show
you the basic game, with an uncluttered screen as much as
possible. This is a game that benefits from being pastoral,
not looking like a child's video game" (WASHINGTON POST,
10/15). In Chicago, John Jackson writes that both NBC and
Fox "have settled in to provide some superb coverage of
both" LCS. Jackson credits NBC's Costas and Morgan, who
have "grown into a team," and notes that NBC has "enhanced
its use of graphics without going for the overkill effects
of some networks." Fox's telecasts "haven't reached NBC's
level, but they're solid. ... Fox offers too many graphics,
and we all could do without the constant sound effects"
(SUN-TIMES, 10/15). In L.A., Larry Stewart gives his MLB
announcer "edge" to Fox's Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.
Stewart: "They seem, almost always, to be out front" (L.A.
TIMES, 10/15). In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley calls Buck,
McCarver and Bob Brenly "the best lead broadcast team doing
the playoffs" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/15).
IS IT INTENSE OR UNNECESSARY? In Atlanta, freelance
writer Greg Strange writes that "close-up shots" of players
in the dugouts "are embarrassing and at worst they are
downright stomach-turning." Strange: "Chewing, spitting,
scratching, nose-picking, cursing and the occasional violent
tantrum after a bad outing at the plate do not constitute
must-see TV" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/15).