Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Sports broadcasts continue to struggle in the ratings

If you thought Chicago sports teams were having a bad year... ratings for live sports broadcasts are still struggling just as badly, and no wonder:

- The National League Championship Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies on TBS had a household rating of 2.2 for Game 1. Colorado swept the series from Arizona 4-0 with last night's victory. This will likely be the lowest rated NLCS ever, given the fact that two of those games had start times at 9 p.m. Central and ended past midnight.

What is up with the late start times for some of these playoff games? This is the NLCS we're talking about, not the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Major League Baseball handled this very poorly, and they (and TBS) got what they deserved in the ratings department.

The American League Championship Series between Boston and Cleveland, is faring somewhat better, averaging a 5.3. household rating for the first two games.

The Indians lead 2-1 in that series. If Cleveland advances, it will create a Cleveland-Colorado matchup in the World Series, which could be a ratings disaster. Already, the NBA Finals (Cleveland Calivers vs. San Antonio Spurs) and Stanley Cup Finals (Ottawa Senators vs. Anaheim Ducks) recorded all-time ratings lows this year.

- It looks like we may have a repeat of what happened with the White Sox this year - the Chicago Bears, after a successful couple of seasons. are falling fast - and so are the television ratings.

The Vikings-Bears game averaged a 25.4 household rating, down from the 30 rating for the Bears-Packers game in prime time the previous week. Keep in mind however, that HUT levels are lower in daytime than they are in prime time, and that 25.4 alone would top most prime time network programs.

But that's no excuse as the Bears' poor play is taking it toll, and fans (notably casual ones) are starting to bail.

If the Bears continue to stumble, the ratings could fall behind Dancing With The Stars, and then you've got a real problem.

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