Fox Sees First Year-Over-Year Overnight Ratings Increase For MLB ASG Since '08

Fox earned an 8.1 overnight Nielsen rating for last night’s MLB All-Star Game, which saw the NL rout the AL 8-0. That figure is up 2.5% from a 7.9 overnight last year, which was an all-time low, and marks game’s first year-over-year increase since ’08. The telecast delivered Fox a win in primetime among all nets and marked the net’s best night since the “American Idol” finale in May. The beginning of the game delivered a 7.9 rating, which was the best first-pitch tune-in for an All-Star Game since President Obama appeared before the '09 game. The telecast peaked at a 9.0 rating during the 10:00-10:15pm ET window when Mets P R.A. Dicket came in to pitch for the NL. St. Louis topped all markets last night with a 20.5 local rating, while K.C. ranked second with an 18.7. Rounding out the top five markets were Detroit (16.1), Cincinnati (12.3) and Dallas-Ft. Worth (11.6). Detroit saw the biggest year-over-year gains among all markets (up 50%), followed by DC (36%), L.A. (27%) and Dallas-Ft. Worth (25%) (Austin Karp, THE DAILY). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes Fox' coverage was "low-key from the start." The net added "Diamond Cams," tiny cameras "stuck in the field meant to shoot upwards, for the first time in the All-Star Game since 2006, but didn't use them in the game's early going." Fox also "didn't go overboard hyping" new reporter Erin Andrews during her debut with the net last night (USA TODAY, 7/11).

ALL-STAR GAME OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND ON FOX
YEAR	OVERNIGHT	SITE
'12	8.1	Kauffman Stadium
'11	7.9	Chase Field
'10	9.1	Angel Stadium
'09	10.4	Busch Stadium
'08	11.0	Yankee Stadium
'07	10.0	AT&T Park
'06	10.6	PNC Park
'05	9.8	Comerica Park
'04	10.3	Minute Maid Field
'03	11.1	U.S. Cellular Field
'02	11.4	Miller Park
'01	12.6	Safeco Field

TESTING THE WATERS: MLB last night conducted its first-ever experiment with players posting on Twitter and Facebook during the All-Star Game in K.C., its first such effort since creating rules prohibiting such activity during regular season and postseason games. The league, aided by its creative services department, set up a room with computer stations near the clubhouses, and modeled it in large part after the MLB Fan Cave in N.Y. Players participating included Yankees SS Derek Jeter, Dodgers CF Matt Kemp, Nationals SS Ian Desmond and P Stephen Strasburg, Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista, Rangers P Joe Nathan, Rays P David Price, and Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval. The game generated more than 290,000 social media comments in the first inning alone, more than the entire '11 game in Phoenix. Monday night's Home Run Derby, meanwhile, generated a final tally of 804,337 social media comments, a 158% increase from the '11 event in Phoenix (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: ESPN finished with a 4.1 U.S. rating and 6.882 million viewers for the Home Run Derby on Monday night, up 2.5% and 2.9%, respectively, from a 4.0 rating and 6.686 milion viewers last year. The increase comes after overnight ratings had the event down from last year. The viewership is also the best for the event since '09 (Karp).

MLB HOME RUN DERBY AUDIENCE TREND ON ESPN
YEAR	U.S. RATING	VIEWERS (000)
'12	4.1	6,882
'11	4.0	6,686
'10	4.0	6,418
'09	5.1	8,250
'08	5.5	9,116
'07	4.3	6,778
'06	4.4	6,787
'05	4.1	6,330
'04	4.7	7,713
'03	4.3	n/a