ESPN's on-air crew of Dan Shulman, Aaron Boone and Curt Schilling called Sunday's Nationals-Mets game from the Citi Field bleachers, but in N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that was "not a very illuminating spot" for viewers. The announcers were "so far from the action that they clearly had to rely heavily on the monitors" and they "did nothing to make their unusual placement worth the effort." They "called the game as they would from the booth, but they could not see the field as they normally would have." Sandomir: "If you want to detour from tried-and-true game-calling, then offer something different or radical, not just three guys trying to call a game as they would in a booth, but from lousy seats" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/4).
AN A-BOMB FROM A-ROD? In N.Y., Bob Raissman cited sources as saying that "contact was made" between reps of Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez and Fox Sports execs "for a preliminary discussion about the possibility of Rodriguez becoming involved" in postseason MLB coverage. Sources said that contact "also has been established between A-Rod's camp and other network partners involved in the postseason (Turner and ESPN) to discuss a possible gig." Raissman: "While the presence of A-Rod would not guarantee added ratings points, it would bring mega buzz." Fox would be "getting a controversial superstar who transcends the game, a player who is known by the casual fan, albeit for many wrong reasons" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/2).
DETAILS ON DEM BUMS: In California, Michael Lev notes Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA’s ratings for last weekend's Angels-Dodgers series "were up 22 percent over last year, and Sunday’s telecast was the third-highest-rated game" of the season. Sunday also marked the "highest-rated Angels broadcast on Fox Sports West this season." Angels-Dodgers was the highest-rated series on FS West so far this season. The ratings are "especially impressive ... when you consider that Saturday’s game was simulcast on Fox Sports 1 and that two of the three games were in the afternoon" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 8/4)....FS Southwest on Saturday drew a 4.5 local rating in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market for Rangers P Cole Hamels' first start with the team after being traded from the Phillies. The 4.5 rating for Giants-Rangers marked the RSN's third-best MLB game this season to date and is 61% higher than the Rangers' season-to-date average (Fox Sports).
TRADE CRAFT: MLB Network averaged 147,000 viewers each day last week (July 25-31), marking the net's best trade deadline week audience yet. Trade deadline week on the net was up 19% from last year's coverage, with the male 18-34 demo seeing a 77% increase. MLB Net last Friday, the day of the deadline, had its second-best total-day audience ever during the regular season, averaging 193,000 viewers for the day. The net also saw four of its programs draw their highest or second-highest audiences on record (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
