The White Sox’s four-game World Series sweep over the Stros generated the lowest television ratings on record for the Series, and resulted in the Fox television network not meeting its ratings guarantees to sponsors. The World Series averaged about 17.2 million viewers and drew a record low rating of 11.1 (A rating point represents approximately 1.1 million homes), which is a 30% decline from the 25.4 million viewers and 15.8 rating that the Boston Red Sox-St. Louis Cardinals Series averaged last season.
Frankly, the numbers aren’t particularly surprising. Neither the White Sox nor the Stros have a national fan base such as Fox enjoyed in last season’s Series with the Red Sox. Moreover, the Stros’ Roger Clemens — who pitched a total of two innings — was the only well-known star in the Series. Finally, comparing ratings from recent Series with those of even more than five years ago can be a bit similar to comparing apples and oranges. The increase in television entertainment choices has diluted ratings for all special programs such as the Series, reflected by the fact that the ratings for this Series were still 50% higher than the prime time average of NBC, CBS and ABC combined this season. Interestingly, Fox was still able to charge $350,000 for each 30-second commercial spot this season, which was up from $330,000 it charged last season.