Fox earned a 12.5 overnight rating for the Red Sox’ 6-1 win over the Cardinals last night in World Series Game 6, which is up from last year’s Game 4 clincher, but down from recent Game 6s. The net earned a 10.6 overnight for the clinching Game 4 last year in the Giants-Tigers series. The last Game 6 was in ’11, with that 11-inning Cardinals-Rangers game earning a 13.8 overnight. There was no Game 6 in ’10, but the series-clinching Yankees-Phillies Game 6 in ’09 earned a 15.5 overnight. Last night’s game grew to a 13.5 rating in the 9:30pm ET half-hour, but then dipped as the Red Sox opened up a big lead. The game peaked at a 13.6 overnight from 11:00-11:30pm as the game finished. The game will deliver Fox a win in primetime among all nets. Boston drew a 55.2 local rating for the game, marking the best MLB rating of any kind in the market since Game 4 of the ’07 Red Sox-Rockies World Series. St. Louis drew a 37.9 local rating. For the six-game series, Fox drew a 10.1 overnight rating, up from an 8.9 rating for the four-game sweep last year (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
NO KIDDING: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman wrote the World Series gave MLB "nearly everything it could have dreamed of." But one problem is that "too many kids have found something else to do." It "isn't hard to figure out why." So many games were "dragging deep into their fourth hour." With all those "AARP-eligible folks lining the lower levels of the stands," MLB has "morphed into sports' version of the opera -- long productions filled with pomp, color and crazy facial hair that younger audiences just don't get." The average World Series TV viewer this year is 54.4 years old, and the trend line is "heading north." Kids age 6-17 represented just 4.3% of the average audience for the ALCS and NLCS, "compared with 7.4% a decade ago." Comparisons with the NFL "are pointless," but kids "make up a larger segment of the television audiences for the NBA, NHL and even soccer's English Premier League than they do for baseball." MLB argues that its audience "tracks closely to that of prime-time network TV in general, where kids now make up about 5% of the audience." They "attribute their declines in part to the fragmenting TV audience, especially among kids" (WSJ.com, 10/30).
BUCK WILD: MLB.com's Alyson Footer reported Fox' Joe Buck, in the minutes leading up to the first pitch, usually sings "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash as "sort of as a way to keep things loosey-goosey prior to going on the air." He "doesn't remember exactly when this ritual started, but as some point in the last 18 years he's been broadcasting games for Fox, it became a regular thing." Fox audio engineer Joe Carpenter "queues up the ditty, and Buck belts out a few bars." Buck said, "I'm sure the crew wants to throw up. They're rolling their eyes. But it's like our little tradition, and we're not messing with tradition" (MLB.com, 10/30).
UTILITY PLAYER: In L.A., Dodgers C A.J. Ellis in another special to the L.A. TIMES writes, "In my second attempt providing analysis for the World Series, I appreciate the forum and freedom the Los Angeles Times has given me to share my insights. I also must thank the countless baseball writers who have reached out and commented on the articles. I am continually impressed at the job done by these gifted people and have new understanding of what an unknown outcome with a deadline looming does to your stomach" (L.A. TIMES, 10/31).
