Fox' Rain-Delayed NLCS Game 3 Wreaks Havoc On Net's Primetime Schedule

Fox earned a 3.1 overnight Nielsen rating for the portion of last night’s Giants-Cardinals NLCS Game 3 that was not affected by rain. The game began at 4:00pm ET, averaging a 2.9 rating until the rain delay began at 6:45pm. During the three-hour, 15-minute delay from 6:45-10:00pm, Fox averaged a 3.5 rating. The net during that time aired local programming until 8:00pm, then aired network programming. When play resumed, the net got a 3.8 rating from 10:00-10:45pm. The game peaked during the final 15 minutes with a 4.0 rating. In St. Louis, the telecast got a 31.1 rating, while the S.F.-Oakland-San Jose market earned a 10.3 rating. Last year’s comparable Rangers-Tigers ALCS Game 3 on Fox earned a 5.9 rating for a telecast that aired on a Tuesday night. The 3.1 overnight for Giants-Cardinals did beat TBS’ Cardinals-Brewers Game 3 last year, which drew a 3.0 overnight. Through six games across TBS and Fox to date, MLB LCS telecasts are averaging a 4.4 overnight, up from a 3.7 at the same point last postseason (Austin Karp, THE DAILY). Fox announced that last night’s edition of "The X Factor," which “only partially aired on the East Coast and not at all out West, will be aired in full next Tuesday, Oct. 23.” In California, Chuck Barney noted East Coast fans “only saw 40 minutes of the show (and only some of the finalists), while West Coast fans were subjected to a repeat” from the at-home portion of "The X Factor." Host Simon Cowell was “none too happy about the scheduling.” He tweeted, "It's what's known as a total f up" (CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 10/18).

NOT DRINKING THE HATERADE: SPORTS ON EARTH’s Will Leitch writes of Fox’ Joe Buck, “Everyone always expects me to hate Joe Buck. But I don’t. In fact, I think he does as well as anyone reasonably could with one of the most high-profile, visible jobs in sports. I like him. I’m pretty sure his broadcast of Game 6 of the World Series last year was a master class in live sports coverage.” Leitch surveyed a “bunch of Buck haters” to hear the “primary reasons, and to see whether or not I could refute them.” Buck has a “certain tone in his voice that I suspect he believes comes off as wry,” but to the “average viewer, it can seem arch and superior.” Buck is not “particularly more smug than every other person on television,” but if you “don’t like that sense of humor, maybe he’s not for you.” Another reason the “haters” gave is that Buck “doesn’t get excited enough.” But Leitch writes this is “a reason to like Buck, not to hate him.” Leitch: “I will take someone like Buck having a legitimate, honest, non-bloviating reaction to a sports moment than Gus Johnson bursting into flames because someone moves the chains on a second-and-1 plunge.” In addition, the “haters” found the main reason to dislike Buck is that he is on TV “all the time.” Buck has been the “soundtrack to an unusually high percentage of sports’ most memorable moments during a time when social media has exploded and fans have more of a voice to complain and vent than ever before.” Leitch: “I guarantee you that had Twitter and blogs existed when Vin Scully was doing national games, or Bob Costas and Tony Kubek did the Game of the Week, or Howard Cosell was doing ‘Monday Night Football,’ they would have thought everyone hated them, too” (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 10/18).