Fox earned an 8.2 overnight rating for the Giants’ 5-0 win over the Royals in Game 5 of the World Series last night, marking the lowest-rated Game 5 on record. Royals-Giants, which aired up against NBC's Packers-Saints "SNF" matchup, is down 17% from a 10.0 overnight for Red Sox-Cardinals Game 5 in ’13 -- the previous all-time Game 5 low -- which aired on a Monday night. However, Giants-Royals marked the first time since '05 that a Sunday World Series game did not have a lead-in from an NFL national window. Last night’s NFL and MLB game coverage also saw head-to-head competition from the series finale of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” as well as episodes of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and Showtime’s “Homeland.” Meanwhile, Giants-Royals Game 4 on Saturday night earned a 7.1 overnight, down from a 10.5 overnight for Red Sox-Cardinals last year, which aired on a Sunday with a lead-in from the NFL. The game is projected to lead Fox to a primetime win on Saturday (Karp & Carpenter, THE DAILY).
TURN TWO: In Denver, Dusty Saunders writes Fox should "dump the three-man broadcasting booth and return to a traditional duo." Three "is always a crowd in any sports booth," and Fox "is providing a graphic illustration." While their broadcasts "are not a disaster," the coverage from Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci "comes across as impersonal." The three "are relying on an overload of information rather than producing a knowledgeable give-and-take between two broadcasters who know the game -- and each other." Reynolds' "encyclopedic knowledge sometimes detracts from the human picture," and his voice "is certainly not an asset." Verducci "shows great potential," but "seems hesitant to voice an opinion for fear of stepping into Reynolds' territory" (DENVER POST, 10/27).
BASEBALL'S PROSPECTS: In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy wrote the Giants and Royals "are putting on a pretty good show, but they lack star power and they are participants in an event that is slowly dying." While the World Series "was once the biggest event in sports," it now is a "relic of a simpler time" before ESPN and the Internet. Shaughnessy: "It’s evolution. Baseball is too long and slow for modern attention spans" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/25). But in New Jersey, Bob Klapisch writes under the header, "Baseball Is Alive And Well." The "overall star quotient in the baseball is down," but it "is evolving towards a different formula, proving that it can be attractive regardless of who’s on the field" (Bergen RECORD, 10/27).
CHEERING IN THE PRESS BOX? K.C. STAR Public Editor Derek Donovan noted an "overwhelming majority of feedback" he has received from readers of the paper's Royals postseason coverage "has been exceedingly positive." But Donovan wondered if the paper has become "a Royals booster." Donovan: "You have to examine what was published all season as a whole. It hasn’t been all rosy. Columnists Vahe Gregorian and Sam Mellinger have certainly brought up some uncomfortable subjects after the team’s losses." Still, there has been an "undeniable link between documenting the celebration over something as exciting as the Royals in the World Series and the feeling that the journalists are actively participating in that excitement." It is a "fair critique, and likely true on some level" (KANSASCITY.com, 10/26).
