The Dodgers' NL West-clinching win over the Giants on Wednesday night drew a 6.41 local rating in L.A., marking the team's highest figure of the season. The game pulled a 4.91 rating on over-the-air KDOC-Ind. and a 1.5 on SportsNet LA. After reaching few fans all season because of SportsNet LA's distribution challenges, KDOC has simulcast the last week's games on over-the-air TV. So far, the three games have averaged a 5.13 combined rating -- 3.87 on KDOC and 1.26 on SportsNet LA (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
HOW THE WEST WAS WON: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth notes the Angels' rise to the top of the AL standings "produced some provocative data" for FS West's coverage. The RSN has averaged a 1.67 local rating in L.A. for Angels games this season, a figure that is up 45% over last year, when FS Prime Ticket "also had the Dodgers’ rights." The Angels’ ratings are the "highest they’ve been" since '05, when the team won the AL West. During August, FS West was the "fourth most-watched network in prime time in L.A." Also take into account the Angels "skew toward the youngest audience in the majors" -- 19% are ages 18-34, while the MLB average in that demo is 12%. Since the All-Star break, the Angels' average game audience has been "2½ times" that of Dodgers games. FS West VP & GM Steve Simpson said, “It’s not like you can turn a Dodgers fan into an Angels fan, but you can definitely grow Angels fans. We’ve watched the last two- or three-year composition of ratings, and the Angels have just been continuing to grow because they put themselves in that position" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 9/26).
