MLB Playoff Ratings: Audience Comes Back To Fox After Debate

Twins' Lack Of Exposure Coupled w/ Debate Hurt Game One Ratings

Fox earned a 5.9/9 national Nielsen rating Tuesday for Game One of the Twins-Yankees ALDS, down 21% from a 7.5/12 for the comparable Cubs-Braves NLDS Game One last season. However, Fox’ rating was up 18% from a 5.0/9 for Game One of the Giants-Mets NLDS in ’00, the last time an LDS game aired opposite a Vice Presidential debate. After the debate ended, Fox’ Twins-Yankees rating increased from a 6.1/9 to a 6.8/11 from 10:45-11:00pm ET. The game peaked with a 7.1/12 from 11:00-11:15pm. Twins-Yankees averaged 8.5 million viewers, and earned a 24.1/34 in Minneapolis/St. Paul and a 14.3/19 in N.Y. The debate earned a combined 28.1/41 on six networks, up 34% from ’00 (Fox). The WALL STREET JOURNAL notes that a combined 43.6 million viewers watched the debate, up 50% from ’00 and the largest audience since the ’92 debate (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/7). Former ABC Sports VP Jim Spence said of the Twins-Yankees rating, “The debate certainly had an impact. Also, the Twins are not a magic name. Their lack of national exposure hurt” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/7). In St. Paul, Charley Walters reports the rating for Twins-Yankees in Minneapolis/St. Paul was higher than the combined rating for the three local stations that carried the debate (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/7). NEWSDAY’s Zipay & Davidoff report the 14.3 in N.Y. compared to a combined 20.8 for the debate (NEWSDAY, 10/7).

ESPN’S COVERAGE: ESPN’s coverage of Wednesday's Twins-Yankees ALDS Game Two earned a 5.7 cable Nielsen rating, the third-best cable rating ever for an LDS game. On Tuesday, ESPN earned a 1.7/ (1,564,000 HHs) Nielsen cable rating for Game One of the Dodgers-Cardinals NLDS, down 35% from a 2.6/ (2,248,000 HHs) for the comparable Twins-Yankees ALDS Game One last year. ESPN’s coverage of Red Sox-Angels ALDS Game One Tuesday earned a 2.9/ (2,554,000 HHs), down 12% from a 3.3/ (2,889,000 HHs) for the comparable Marlins-Giants NLDS Game One (THE DAILY). In Boston, Bill Griffith reports Red Sox-Angels Game One earned a combined 25.5/49 in Boston on ESPN and WCVB-ABC. ESPN earned a 10.4/18, while WCVB earned a 15.1/29 for its simulcast of ESPN’s coverage (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/7). In L.A. Larry Stewart reports L.A.’s KCOP-UPN earned a 2.0 for its simulcast of ESPN’s Red Sox-Angels, while L.A.’s KTTV-Fox earned a 2.4 for its simulcast of ESPN’s Dodgers-Cardinals Game One (L.A. TIMES, 10/7).

LOGGING ON: MLBAM CEO Bob Bowman said that MLB.com drew about six million visitors Tuesday, up 60% from the first day of the ’03 postseason (USA TODAY, 10/7).

TALKING POINTS: Former Phillies manager Larry Bowa appeared on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” and “SportsCenter” yesterday and is scheduled to appear on ESPN again today (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/7). In Toronto, William Houston writes, “If there is a better announcer in baseball than [ESPN’s] Jon Miller, we don’t know who he is. It’s certainly not Fox’s Joe Buck, whose assertive play-calling is effective in football, but seems too loud for baseball” (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 10/7).

SENSITIVITY TRAINING NEEDED? In Orlando, Jerry Greene reports MLB for the second straight year issued postseason media credentials to Japanese writers using “J-A-P” as the country code rather than “J-P-N” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/7).

CHANGE OF PLANS: Saturday’s Univ. of Minnesota-Univ. of Michigan football game, which was originally scheduled to air on ESPN, will air live on ESPN Classic at 12:00pm ET to ensure that it is not pre-empted by the MLB playoffs. If there is no MLB game, the football game will be simulcast on ESPN and ESPN Classic. The game marks ESPN Classic’s first broadcast of a live college football game (ESPN).

ESPN’S REGULAR-SEASON RATINGS: ESPN’s 86 MLB telecasts during the ’04 regular season averaged 1,214,000 viewers, a 7% increase over last year and the largest average since ’01. The 1.1 average cable rating marks a 10% increase over last season’s 1.0. ESPN averaged 2,410,000 viewers for its 19 “Sunday Night Baseball” telecasts, an 11% increase over ’03 and the largest average audience for the program since ’98. Additionally, ESPN2’s 65 MLB telecasts averaged a 0.6 rating, a 20% increase over last year. The net averaged 642,000 viewers, matching the largest average MLB audience ever on the net and an 11% increase over ’03 (MLB).