Fox Sports' "eclectic studio team" covering the Royals-Mets World Series "offers much more enjoyable analysis before and after the game" than booth analyst Harold Reynolds is capable of during the action, according to Chad Finn of the BOSTON GLOBE. Studio analyst Pete Rose's "awkwardness on camera has made him something of a social media phenomenon." Finn: "Who knew that would make for such amusing television? Yet it does, especially when bantering with Frank Thomas as well as ex-players Raul Ibanez and C.J. Nitkowski, who have each appeared on one game broadcast so far and are both easygoing, engaging talkers." If Rose "isn’t the star of the show," then it is Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez, who has "joined the aforementioned analysts as well as host Kevin Burkhardt in the studio." Finn: "What a revelation he has been. A-Rod is an excellent analyst. ... He’s articulate, self-deprecating, and uses knowledge gleaned from competing against many of the Royals and Mets to offer sharp but concise observations" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/30). Rodriguez appeared on NBC’s "The Tonight Show" on Thursday and talked about joining the Fox team. He said, "It is hard to do. It is really difficult to get all your thoughts condensed and say it in 15 or 20 seconds and try to talk to your fan base about it.” Host Jimmy Fallon said, “You’re up there (with) Joe Buck, legends, guys who have done it for years and years, and you don’t miss a step” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 10/29).
AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGET: After an initial win in the overnight ratings, Fox' World Series Game 2 audience ended up lower than the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night. CNBC finished with 14.0 million viewers for the debate, setting a network record audience that was 3.5 times higher than its old record -- competition from the '02 Salt Lake City Games. Fox finished with 13.7 million viewers for Mets-Royals Game 2, marking the net's best World Series Game 2 since Cardinals-Rangers in '11 (14.3 million viewers). Fox did beat out CNBC for a win among all nets in primetime. Game 2 also drew another 183,000 viewers on Fox Deportes. Through two games, Fox is averaging 14.5 million viewers, up 16% from the same point last year for Giants-Royals and the best two-game World Series average since '10. Fox also is seeing strong growth among male demos, including double-digit increases among males 12-24 and 18-34 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
