Fox’ Split National MLB Telecast Continues Ratings Slide

Overnight For Fox' Split National Broadcast Down 14.5%

Fox earned a 9.4/14 overnight Nielsen rating last night for its split telecast of Game Two of the White Sox-Angels ALCS and Game One of the Astros-Cardinals NLCS, down 14.5% from an 11.0/16 for the comparable split telecast last season featuring Red Sox-Yankees Game Two and Astros-Cardinals Game One, but up 8.0% from the last non-Yankee split telecast in ‘02. Fox’ ratings do not account for coverage on FX, whose ratings are not yet available. Last year’s games were up against the third presidential debate airing on most networks. White Sox-Angels was broadcast on Fox to 51% of the country, while Astros-Cardinals appeared on Fox in 47% of homes. The alternate game aired on FX in each market. White Sox-Angels last night earned a 26.7/39 in Chicago, up 6.8% from Game One, and an 18.5/32 in L.A., up 6.9% from Game One. Astros-Cardinals earned a 25.4/35 in Houston and a 40.0/52 in St. Louis (THE DAILY).

CHICAGO BARES: Angels-White Sox Game One Tuesday earned a 7.7/12 final Nielsen rating, ranking Fox third in households for the night. Fox won the night in males 18-34 with a 4.0 and in males 18-49 with a 5.0. The game ended at 11:06am ET and earned an 11.2/19 in its final six minutes, the highest-rated portion of the game. The 7.7/12 compares to a 10.0/16 for the Red Sox-Yankees ALCS Game One in ’04 and a 10.1/17 for Marlins-Cubs NLCS Game One in ’03 (Fox). Against baseball On Tuesday, NBC’s ratings rose 11% from the previous week; ABC’s “Commander In Chief” became the only TV series to grow in its second week with 16.9 million viewers; and CBS’ “NCIS” recorded a series-high 16.9 million viewers (USA TODAY, 10/13).

Fox Crew On Top Of Umpire Controversy

CATCHER CAM: Last night’s Angels-White Sox Game Two featured a controversial call in the bottom of the ninth when White Sox C A.J. Pierzynski appeared to strike out swinging, but took first base when home plate umpire Doug Eddings did not definitively rule that the ball was not caught by the catcher. In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes Fox announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver “quickly saw that the pitch had been caught cleanly.” McCarver, a former catcher, said, “The catcher knows if he caught it cleanly. He rolled it back to the mound.” Buck, McCarver and guest analyst Lou Piniella all noted that Eddings “should have sought quicker help” from third-base umpire Ed Rapuano. Buck surmised that Rapuano “eventually agreed with Eddings or ‘did not see it’” (N.Y. TIMES, 10/13).