Fox finished with 16.0 million viewers Wednesday night for the Astros' 7-6, 11-inning win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series. That number is down 11% from 17.4 million viewers for Cubs-Indians Game 2 in '16, but is up 13% from 13.7 million for Royals-Mets Game 2 in '15. Wednesday night's viewership total is also up 20% from Giants-Royals Game 2 in '14 (12.9 million) (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
CUP OF JOE: Fox' Joe Buck said he is approaching his broadcast career "year by year, contract by contract," and does not "know the answer" to how much longer he plans to call baseball games. Buck: "At the end of this contract, it will be 22 World Series. At some point it’s time for somebody else to do these. I’m not concerned with setting some sort of longevity record. ... I’m lucky to do what I’m doing, I’m smart enough to know that." Buck added, "I couldn’t be happier working at Fox. I know they’re happy with me. The more I see what goes on at other networks, the more I realize I’ve been in the best place possible since 1994" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/27).
HOUSTON, WE HAVE CONTACT: In Houston, David Barron notes the Astros "drew more than a million viewers" locally for each of the first two games of the World Series. Game 1 drew a 28.6 rating locally, while Game 2 drew a 30.0, and with three games coming up in Houston, the series "could top a 30 rating locally." That is "down from local numbers that topped out in the low 40s" in '05, the last time the Astros played in the World Series. But that is "another generation or three removed in terms of TV viewership norms" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/27).
MASS APPEAL: In Minneapolis, Michael Rand wrote Astros-Dodgers Game 2 "did the thing a great game should do: It made me care deeply and watch intently even though I don’t really care about either of the two teams." For people who live in Minnesota, a Astros-Dodgers World Series "doesn’t have much inherent appeal from a rooting interest standpoint." However, there is a chance that this was "just the beginning of an epic series that demands our attention regardless of that" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 10/26). In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes Game 2 on Wednesday was "without a doubt one of the greatest World Series games ever played." For a new generation of "reluctant hardball fans," Game 2 was an "invitation to pay attention and maybe embrace the game that your dad loved when he was a kid." But this is "not to suggest that one game can solve all the things that are wrong with a staid sport" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/27).
