Fox drew a 6.4 overnight rating for the MLB All-Star Game last night, marking the lowest figure on record for the Midsummer Classic. Last night's figure is down 18% from a 7.8 overnight last year, and down from a 7.9 rating in '14. Despite drawing a record-low audience, the ASG will still deliver Fox a primetime win. The game peaked at a 6.7 rating at around 10:15pm ET. K.C. led all markets with an 18.8 local rating, but that was down 40% from a 31.4 rating in K.C. for last year's ASG. St. Louis ranked second with a 10.4 rating, down from a 17.9 last year. Host market San Diego ranked No. 5 with a 9.8 local rating. The N.Y. market drew a 7.0 rating for the game, down 15% from an 8.2 last year and down 41% from '14, which was the final All-Star appearance for Derek Jeter. The drop for last night's telecast came despite big upticks for the Boston (+46%) and Chicago markets (+32%) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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ALL-STAR GAME OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND ON FOX
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YEAR
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OVERNIGHT
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SITE
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'16
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6.4
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Petco Park
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'15
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7.8
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Great American Ball Park
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'14
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7.9
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Target Field
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'13
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8.1
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Citi Field
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'12
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8.1
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Kauffman Stadium
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'11
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7.9
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Chase Field
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'10
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9.1
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Angel Stadium
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'09
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10.4
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Busch Stadium
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'08
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11.0
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Yankee Stadium
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'07
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10.0
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AT&T Park
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JOHNNY ON THE SPOT: In S.F., Bruce Jenkins writes John Smoltz "did a terrific job alongside Joe Buck all night" during his first All-Star Game in the broadcast booth (
S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/13). Braves broadcaster
Chip Caray on Twitter wrote, "Such a pleasure to hear John Smoltz." SI's
Richard Deitsch: "Verducci is a longtime colleague & someone I respect as much as anyone at SI. But Buck-Smoltz is better booth team." Charlotte-based WFNZ-AM's
Nathan Conley: "Offsetting Joe Buck with John Smoltz was a good move. This is at least sufferable now." The L.A. Times'
Mike DiGiovanna: "Joe Buck just called Mike Trout 'a freaking machine' on ASG telecast. Think he meant to say freak and freaking came out. Funny." St. Paul Pioneer Press'
Mike Berardino: "Sorry, Joe Buck, it's not the 6.5 hole Tony Gwynn talked about all the time. It's 5.5. Good try, though" (
TWITTER.com, 7/12).
COMING OFF THE BENCH: In San Diego, Jeff Sanders notes Chris Myers "pinch-hit" for Kevin Burkhardt as "host of Fox's pre- and postgame coverage," as Burkhardt had a "personal medical issue" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/13). Myers handled those responsibilities with analysts Tom Verducci, Pete Rose and Frank Thomas. Barstool Sports' John Feitelberg tweeted that Rose and Thomas "talking about how Papi needs to keep playing and 'cement' his legacy has me scratching my head over here." SiriusXM Radio's Pete Pistone: "Pete Rose on Fox is the baseball television version of 'Drunk Uncle.'"
MORE ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER: In Philadelphia, Dick Jerardi writes under the header, "How Modern Media Killed The All-Star Game." When it comes to the modern All-Star Game, there is "nothing left to imagination." Jerardi: "If you live in an American League city, you are not going to be surprised by (Cubs 3B) Kris Bryant's swing. You have seen it on MLB, ESPN and Fox, watched on your smartphone or laptop." Jerardi notes that he "doesn't sense the same sense of anticipation for the All-Star Game." He added it might also "be our 24/7 world in which there is little time for reflection because the next event is rushing toward us even as the most recent is being analyzed to death" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/13).
