World Series Game 1 Draws 15 Mil.

Come October, every Fox employee is a Yankee fan by default, as the presence of the Bronx Bombers in the Fall Classic is a guarantee of rock-solid ratings. But if the deliveries for Game 1 are anything to go by, the notion that Americans would turn away from a New York-free World Series altogether seems suspect. Wednesday night’s opener between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants served up 15 million total viewers, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings data, and while that was down 23 percent from Game 1 of last year’s Yankees-Phillies series, it also marked a 3 percent uptick from the corresponding Phillies-Rays matchup in 2008 (14.6 million). Comparisons against last season’s World Series are best made in light of historical context. The Yankees claimed their 27th championship in six games, delivering an average 19.4 million viewers. Last year’s Series stands as the most-watched Fall Classic since 2004, when the Boston Red Sox snapped a run of futility that stretched back to 1918 with a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. That series drew an average crowd of 25.4 million viewers. The rain-soaked Rays-Phillies battle in 2008 averaged a record-low 13.6 million viewers. What promised to be an epic pitchers’ duel between Giants’ freak of nature Tim Lincecum and Rangers ace Cliff Lee didn’t come to pass, as the home team lit up the Texas southpaw to the tune of seven runs over just four and two-thirds innings. Opening at a 5.2/10, the broadcast peaked at a 10.4/16 at 9:30 p.m. EDT, or just before the Giants knocked Lee out of the box. The Giants closed out first game of the best-of-seven series with an 11-7 victory. On the night, Fox averaged a 4.7 rating among adults 18-49, its best in the demo since the American Idol finale in May. The San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA (No. 6) topped all local markets with a 35.9/60, while Dallas-Ft. Worth (No. 5) posted a 33.9/51 for the Rangers’ first-ever World Series appearance. While San Francisco most recently appeared in a World Series in 2002, the club hasn’t won all the marbles since 1954, back when they called the Polo Grounds home. Fox’ going rate for its World Series inventory is approximately $450,000 per 30-second spot, notching a 9 percent increase in CPMs versus last year’s rates. Chevrolet and Anheuser-Busch have purchased the greatest number of commercial units.

Convergent TV

World Series Game 1 Draws 15 Mil.

Anthony Crupi

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Anthony Crupi