Fox drew a 10.5 overnight rating for the Royals' 5-4 win in 14 innings over the Mets last night, marking the best figure for Game 1 of the World Series since Phillies-Yankees drew a 13.8 in '09. The telecast lasted from 8:00pm-1:00am ET and was up 31% from the Giants-Royals opener last year (8.0 overnight). The game delivered Fox a win in primetime among all nets. The telecast peaked at a 12.1 rating from 10:45-11:00pm. K.C. led all markets with a 57.3 local rating, which is the best Game 1 figure for any local market since at least the '96 World Series. N.Y. drew a 26.2 local rating for the game (Fox).
BACK IN BLACK: In N.Y., Bob Raissman notes both Fox' "primary and backup generators were hit with a 'rare electronics failure'" during the fourth inning, causing the net's production compound to "lose power." Fox had to "react on the fly," and when the picture "returned, it wasn’t of the game." Instead, it was a “technical difficulties” sign before FS1's Dan O’Toole, in an L.A. studio with analysts Eric Karros and Dontrelle Willis, reminded viewers, “We have lost our picture.” The game picture eventually returned, only the feed was from MLB Int'l, "powered by a different generator on site, with Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz working the mikes." Eventually the game "was stopped as baseball decided what to do without temporary use of instant replay." Fox' broadcast team of Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci "replaced Vasgersian and Smoltz" in the bottom of the fifth and stayed in the MLB Int'l booth until Fox "got things back together." All in all, with the delay thrown in, viewers "missed one at-bat during the time it took to switch over" to the MLB Int'l feed. Fox Senior VP/Field & Technical Operations Mike Davies said, "When something like this happens there is complete darkness in the production truck. Then you see all the monitors are dark. No pictures. It's terrifying" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 10/28). In DC, Adam Kilgore notes many people "immediately wondered if Fox had halted the game." But MLB "indicated otherwise: With the Fox feed down, teams could not access the same angles on replays." Royals Senior VP/Communications & Broadcasting Mike Swanson: "Both teams lost replay capabilities" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/28). Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Joe Lemire notes Fox' national broadcast "was not the only issue," as Google Fiber customers in K.C. "had problems seeing the game" (USATODAY.com, 10/28).
CALLING FOR BACKUP: Before the game was over, Fox issued a statement that read in part, “The issue was immediately addressed, although it resulted in the audience missing one at-bat during the time needed to switch to carriage of Major League Baseball’s international feed, powered by a different generator on site.” As the broadcast went to a commercial break after the 10th inning, Buck said, “We’ve got a bag full of quarters for our generator. We can play all night long.” In N.Y., Richard Sandomir in a front-page piece writes the disruption "was not as severe" as the blackout two years ago at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, which "plunged the Superdome into darkness and delayed the game for 34 minutes" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/28). CBS’ Gayle King asked, “Can you imagine the Fox control room when the power went out? They freak out here if you lose a graphic, so imagine what they were doing in the (control room) with no power at the World Series” (“CBS This Morning,” 10/28). In K.C., Pete Grathoff wrote Fox "had a worse day at Game 1 of the World Series" than Mets CF Yoenis Cespedes, who misplayed a ball in the first inning that allowed an inside-the-park home run. While the delay "was no fun, the reaction to it was hilarious" (KANSASCITY.com, 10/27). The Bergen Record's Steve Popper wrote on Twitter, "If Fox wants to make this up to the world they would lose the audio and put up Howie Rose instead." Newsday's Anthony Rieber: "Fox just put up a graphic telling fans to tune in tomorrow at 8 when it will show most of Game 2." HBO's Bill Simmons: "Conspiracy Bill thinks Fox did this intentionally to get more people to talk about the World Series" (TWITTER.com, 10/27).
PLAYING IT SAFE: The father of Royals P Edinson Volquez died yesterday prior to Volquez starting Game 1, and Fox' Ken Rosenthal during the game tweeted the net was "aware of the news" but did not "plan to report it on broadcast while he is in game." Rosenthal noted the TV broadcast is "generally on" in MLB clubhouses, and there were "conflicting reports" on whether Volquez already knew. Rosenthal: "We are not taking chance he would find out through us" (TWITTER.com, 10/27). Former ESPN Senior VP & Dir of News Vince Doria said, “There is no real right and wrong. You feel strongly about the journalistic obligation to report this, I am not going to criticize you for that. You feel that passion, sensitivity of the situation outweighs the journalistic obligation, I am not going to criticize you for that either. If I am in the situation last night, if I was satisfied with the sourcing that he knew about it beforehand, I would have, of course, reported it” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 10/28).
