The MLB playoffs kicked off Tuesday with the Phillies, Yankees and Dodgers taking a giant step toward securing spots in the league championship series. And FOX and TBS couldn’t be more pleased.
New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston represent five playoff teams and the No. 1, 2, 4 and 7 media markets in the United States. The Colorado Rockies (Denver), Minnesota Twins (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and St. Louis Cardinals check in at 15,18 and 21, respectively.
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What does this mean? FOX, which owns the broadcast rights to the ALCS, is one step closer to a best-of-seven series between the Yanks and Red Sox/Angels. And TBS, which owns the rights to the NLCS, is inching toward another Phillies-Dodgers clash — one that should have stronger ratings than last year, when Game 5 coverage was competing against the third McCain-Obama debate.
The Rockies, Cardinals and Twins all have solid regional followings. But we’ve heard this song before. The 2006 World Series between the Cards and Detroit Tigers (No. 11 media market) drew a 10.1 rating and 17 share on FOX — the lowest World Series numbers ever. Last year, the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays (No. 13 media market) were even worse, drawing a paltry 8.4 rating and 14 share. Of course, these numbers are bigger than regularly scheduled programming, so you won’t hear the networks complaining.
There is more competition on TV than ever before. The days of the World Series having rating numbers in the mid-20s are long gone. But the last four years (even with Chicago, Boston, Houston and Philadelphia being represented) are a long way off from FOX’s numbers at the beginning of the decade, when the network enjoyed an average rating of 13.9 and an average share of 23.
Of course, FOX also benefited from having a big horse in the stable during those years. The Yankees played in three World Series from 2000-2004; the Red Sox played in one and the Angels played in one. The moral of the story? A good baseball matchup (Red Sox/Cardinals) will do the trick, but a big-market showdown is ratings gold.
