Dear FOX Sports,
Whatever the match-ups, this year’s World Series will out-rate last year’s lowest-rated World Series ever. While as a fan of baseball and of ratings I’m hoping for a Dodgers vs. Yankees seven game series, even the least optimal of the possible match-ups -- a Phillies/Angels World Series – would, I believe, out-rate last year’s Phillies/Rays series (update: Maxx in the comments note that the worst match-up ratings-wise might be Dodgers-Angels, and I agree with him).
I bring this up because I was recently interviewed by public radio’s Marketplace reporter Joel Rose. A good guy, a sports fan, and alas, a Phillies fan. I wasn’t as careful as I should’ve been and Joel wound up mixing something I said into this:
Seidman says ratings from the first round of the playoffs were encouraging. But he doubts that even a Yankees-Dodgers series would reverse decades of declining viewership for the World Series. Last year's match-up between Tampa Bay and Philadelphia was the lowest rated ever.
To be clear, in the context of conversation around “What happened to America’s pastime?” I did indeed say that not even a Yankees Dodgers matchup would restore baseball to its former glory. While a Yankees/Dodgers series isn’t going to rate as well as series from 25 years ago, or perhaps even 10 years ago, I am certain that a Yankees/Dodgers match-up would do much better than last year. Yankees/Phillies, too. I’m pretty sure even Phillies vs. Angels would outperform last year. So no matter what happens, at least for a year the trend of declining ratings will be reversed.
I’m not upset with Joel and he did note that I said “Yankees-Dodgers…would be huge”, it’s just one of those things that can happen if you’re not careful. But I didn’t want anyone, especially our friends at FOX Sports, to think that I thought this year’s World Series wouldn’t outperform last years. On a range of from at least a little bit, to a whole freaking lot, I think this year will be better than last.
Joel did capture the important point, which is, “volume is king!” Dodgers-Yankees sounds great and again, I’d love to see it, but seven games of Phillies-Angels would add up to more ratings than four games of Dodgers-Yankees.
Wouldn’t a LA/LA match-up be worse for ratings than Philly/LA due to only one city feeling strongly about watching the series as opposed to two? I mean, I know Manny’s a big deal and all nationally, but its not like the Phillies have no well known players.
Maxx, I agree, that is a potentially worse match-up! I think I just didn’t run that match-up through my head because I don’t see it happening. But, I agree, especially given that the Yankees/Mets series earlier in the decade was nothing special ratings-wise.
Duh.
The World Series getting low ratings in recent years is in part because the sports media focuses so much on the Yankees and Red Sox during the season that other teams get little coverage and hype. After time it’s no wonder a team other than the Yankees/Red Sox gets little to no following (ratings) by “non die-hard fans” of baseball. This is what sets apart the NFL and MLB. In the NFL more teams throughout the US are covered and are talked about. But the media (ESPN) focuses so much on the East Coast baseball teams that they have conditioned casual fans to think that most of the other teams be it the Phillies, Angels, Braves, Cardinals, Rockies, ect. are 2nd rate and casual fans don’t know many of those teams players and don’t have as much interest.
This is a HUGE problem for MLB and they really need to find a way to fix it. A salary cap is one way…but we won’t see that anytime soon. But since the Yankees have so much money they can spend and buy the “star players” and in return are super hyped by the media they have become the only team other than maybe the Red Sox that will get big ratings. MLB needs to find a way to have the media spread the coverage to other teams/markets so maybe other teams can garner attention as well.
I agree with JRock on the problems with MLB. It starts with the Fox weekly game of the week. THe only time there is ever any promotion for the game is when it’s Yankees-Red Sox. No wonder the ratings are horrible for Fox. Also, another problem is the scheduling. Up until about 5 years ago, October meant there were games almost every single night from the beginning to the end of the month. Now, there are all these extra days off for TV. And, there are less and less day games. And, the games start later and later. This year Fox is moving the weekday games up to 7:57. However, the Sunday games are going to be on at 8:20pm. It makes no sense. THe Saturday and Sunday games should start no later than 7pm ET. There is no excuse for the West Coast.
Just to be a sports nut about this:
I’m a Phillies fan. Obviously I want my team in the World Series.
And I want…The Yankees.
Yes, there is nothing I’d like more than to make the entire city and state of New York CRY.
JRock, You are so right as I’ve been preaching that for a while now. The NFL knows how to promote all 32 teams even when they are losing. My interest for the MLB Playoffs this season has fallen flat mainly b/c its mostly made of teams in which they promote too hard over the others. All their missing is their beloved Mets.
Yanks/Red Sox have hurt the sport more than they helped it. Sure when their teams come to your town they can raise attendance but when it comes down to your team’s interest its not there.
MLB needs to change and promote all 30 of their teams which is I why would recommend a salary cap so the league is highly competitive in all markets and expand the number of teams that go to the playoffs.
The NHL and NBA are on par with the NFL when it comes to promoting all of their teams fairly. The NBA had a huge playoff turnout with smaller markets involved like Orlando and Cleveland.
I’m glad to have a chance to talk a little baseball amnd not about shows I don’t watch. As a college football fan, and St. Louis fan,baseball, I find it hard to work up much enthusiasm for the Series yet. But the cohorts I talk with agree the Phillies/Yankees match up is a hardcore fan’s delight, while LA/NY Series would be better for ratings. JRock has thought his comments out, but I tend to believe media coverage is not what turns the CASUAL fan off, but the plethora of entertainment choices which that demo has instead of baseball. In this day and age, unlike a football game which is an event ( unless the game is an absolute dog,) a baseball fan is a baseball fan. Media indifference sure hasn’t hurt Cardinal or Rockie attendance, and great old franchises like Pirates, Reds, Orioles etc suffer far more from lousy owners and perennially poor teams than media prejudice I rthibnk, though we all know that prejudice is real and unrelenting.
Why does fox use joe buck a known yankee lover to do the games this will be a show with very little commentary about the angels, and over the top about the yankees, who should win everything with the price they paid to get this team