2006 World Series: Lowest TV ratings ever (thus far)

[DirtyKash]

FOX ratings dip for first three games

Updated: Thursday October 26, 2006 12:48AM

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- World Series television ratings are as meager as the Detroit Tigers' offense.

The St. Louis Cardinals' 5-0 victory Tuesday night was the lowest-rated Game 3 in Series history, and the three-game average also was the lowest ever.

Game 3 drew a 10.2 fast national rating and 17 share, Fox said Wednesday, down 7 percent from the 11.0 rating last year for the 7-5, 14-inning win by the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros. The previous record low for Game 3 was the 10.8 rating for the Anaheim Angels' 10-4 win over the San Francisco Giants in 2002.

The three-game average of 9.9/17 was down 7 percent from the previous low of 10.6/19, set last year.

"We're going for a World Series title. I'm not worried about the TV ratings," Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander said.

In St. Louis, the game got a 51.9 rating and 66 share, and in Detroit it received a 37.1 rating and 52 share. Fox spokesman Lou D'Ermilio said that because smaller markets are involved in the World Series this year, about 1 million fewer homes from the local teams are tuned in.

"I even did my best to help the ratings in the ninth inning of Game 2," said Tigers closer Todd Jones, who made misplayed a two-out comebacker, gave up an RBI double and hit a batter in Detroit's 3-1 win Sunday night. "New York, New York, what can you say?

"The ratings are good in Michigan, the ratings are good in St. Louis and they're good in Birmingham, Alabama, that's all I care about."

Asked about lower postseason ratings last week, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he didn't want to leap to conclusions.

"I'm not overly concerned," he said. "The teams' television ratings all year have been spectacular. Let's wait until the World Series is over."

He cited baseball's new seven-year deals with Fox and Turner Sports, which will bring the sport a total of about $3 billion from 2007-2013.

"We've now renewed all our contracts for seven years and had lots of competition," Selig said, "so apparently the people in the television business like what they're seeing."

The national rating is the percentage of U.S. television households tuned to a program, and each point represents 1,114,000 homes. The share is the percentage of households watching a broadcast among those homes with televisions in use at the time.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Yeah, a big reason is lots of bitter Mets and Yankees fans won't watch the more clutch methodologies in action, especially since those teams have much smaller payrolls than their teams.

[Mr. D™]

I havn't watched a single world series game let alone playoff one, I just lost intrest in baseball this year, my team is out so i'm waiting for next season

[OBBoltsFan]

People wanna see the Yankees, and more Yankees.

Hell, I wanna see the Yankees and more Yankees; it gives the whole country a team to root against.

[DirtyKash]

I just lost intrest in baseball this year, my team is out so i'm waiting for next season

The way things are going, you won't be watching any postseason for years and years to come.

[Porter]

I think some of that also has to do with the rain delays and such.

[GiantsFanatic]

Maybe the fact that less and less people watch/play baseball now days? Kids now days want to do extreme sports like snowboard, skateboard and ect. Where those sports popularity has been increasing for past few years or so.

[HuskerFan2002]

I think some of that also has to do with the rain delays and such.

Couldn't agree more.

[Roy31]

Not really an issue if you ask me. The majority of the people that watch TV in this country are fat slobs and watch shows like "Dancing With The Stars" because people in this country are obsessed with hollywood and celebrities.

[Kingdom]

I've only watched game two. There's usually something on more fascinating.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Nothing's more fascinating than watching a Jocketty team in action.

[redsfan28]

There are a couple of reasons why the TV ratings are at an all time low.

Reason 1) The biggest star in the series is sucking it up. Yeah, that's right, Pujols is playing like poo.

Reason 2) Other than die hard fans or fans of their respective teams, no one cares about Detroit or St. Louis. The only teams they care about are the big market teams: Yankees, Mets, Sawx, Dodgers.

And I guarantee that if the Cubbies ever made it to the WS, they would draw the largest TV audience for a World Series EVER!

[Kingdom]

Cause everyone would tune it just to see if people are joking, "wh what? The cubs in the series? Shuuutttt up"

[CincyRedsFan30]

Yeah, for some reason more seem to like the teams that try to "buy" everything as opposed to those that do it through skillful "peaks and valleys" type analyzations.

[Kingdom]

I wouldn't go near FOX if either of the New York teams were in the series.