What was already shaping up to be one of the lowest-rated World Series on record turned utterly disastrous for Fox on Monday night when Game 5 was suspended in the sixth inning due to torrential rains in Philadelphia.
With the Series now not expected to resume until at least Wednesday — forecasts place the chance of precipitation at 20% — it's possible that this year's Fall Classic could be the least-watched since Nielsen Media Research started tracking the numbers, according to Maury Brown at BizOfBaseball.com.
Going into Game 3, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays were knotted at one game apiece and an interesting Series seemed in the making. Then a 90-minute rain delay pushed back the start of the third game, helping make Fox's telecast the lowest-rated Series game ever with a 6.1 rating/13 share. Game 4 was a Phillies blowout, causing viewers to tune out early. The game earned a 10.7/17 in the overnight ratings, down more than 25% from last year's Game 4 between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies.
The suspension of Game 5 may well be the final nail in the coffin for Fox and Major League Baseball. The score sits at 2-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning with the Phillies needing just one more win to end the misery. But the longer the inclement weather remains on the scene, what sparse interest is left in the Series will wane even further.
Meanwhile, with Tuesday's rainout a certainty and another at least possible the following night, Fox is forced to plug its primetime lineup with reruns.
Comments