Ratings Roundup: As Expected, World Series Numbers Down Versus 2009

Early ratings data for the 2010 World Series are well below the five-year high seen in 2009. Game 2 of the Giants-Rangers series logged a 9.9 overnight rating on Fox Thursday, down 27% from last year’s Yankees-Phillies Game 2 (13.6). Game 1 was also down: final ratings of 8.9 was 25% lower than the 11.9 for last year’s Yankees-Phillies opener. The 11.9 was also down 3% from Game 1 of the 2008 World Series between the Phillies and Rays; the Series went on to average a record-low rating.

ESPN2’s MLS regular-season viewership was down 12.3% this season, with the 25 game telecasts averaging 249,000 viewers vs. last year’s 284,000 (24 telecasts). It is also down 1.6% from 2008’s 253,000 viewers for 25 telecasts. Meanwhile, Fox Soccer Channel saw its slate of 31 matches average 53,000 viewers this season, flat with last season.

Missouri’s upset win over then-BCS No. 1 Oklahoma earned a 4.3 final rating and 7.064 million viewers on ABC Saturday night, up 27% in ratings and 26% in viewership from last year (Texas-Missouri: 3.4, 5.588 million). Oklahoma-Missouri ranks as ABC’s third-highest-rated and second-most-viewed college-football telecast of the season. Oklahoma’s loss marked the third straight week that the No. 1 team in the country was upset, with each game drawing at least a 4.0 rating and more than 7 million viewers.

The New York Knicks hit the floor on a good note Wednesday, opening the season with a 1.65 household rating on MSG Network in the New York market. That was the Knicks’ best opening-night performance on the RSN since the 2006-07 season (a triple-overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies).

Comcast SportsNet New England’s Boston Celtics telecast against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday was the highest-rated season opener in the network’s history. The game logged a 5.6 household rating and reached an estimated 246,000 homes in the region. The previous first-game highs were 4.7 household ratings in 1999 and 2009.

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