Fox surges
ahead on Yankees baseball
Huge World Series ratings deliver the best week
By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 4, 2009
Fox certainly hit the jackpot when the New York Yankees qualified for their first World Series in six years.
The network has not only seen the best numbers for the series in five years, it has also surged way ahead of the competition season to date.
Buoyed by double-digit increases for this year's World Series compared to last, Fox posted the highest-rated fourth-quarter week for any network since CBS in November of 2004.
The network averaged a 4.8 adults 18-49 rating and 13 share for the week ended Nov. 1, according to Nielsen, 78 percent ahead of No. 2 ABC at 2.7/8. That was also the biggest gap between a first- and second-place network during the fall since 2004.
Games one, two, three and four of the World Series all placed in the top eight for the week among adults 18-49, with game four the week's highest-rated show with a 7.8.
Every game was up at least 31 percent over the comparable game last year.
The network has no doubt been boosted by the presence of the Yankees, who play in the nation's No. 1 TV market, as the American League representative. Last year the Tampa Bay Rays, who hail from the nation's No. 14 market, were the AL reps.
With at least one more game falling inside the November sweeps period, Fox seems well positioned to win the month.
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Yankees play game six of the Series tonight at 8 p.m., with New York leading 3-2.
|
|
|
