Posted on 11/05/2009 5:20:50 AM PST by mattstat
Media firm Magna research today published its estimates of the audiences for the World Series from 1991. They broke the data down by audience per game in each series (of which, of course, there are a possible 7). There was no Series in 1994 due to a strike.
These numbers are estimates, and I have no idea of their potential error; that is, their appropriate plus/minus. Also, the ratings do not show other ways besides traditional TV that people use to follow the Series. I listen to the radio, for example, and sometimes surf to Major League Baseball’s website to listen or watch. These new media sources could be important as we look for trends because, for example, the MLB website feed did not exist until about 2000.
The newspapers published the data in tabular form, which are always hard to read for time series. So I plotted the data in this figure:
Baseball ratings in millions...
(Excerpt) Read more at wmbriggs.com ...
The Olympics?? That's another case. I think they've seen their day.
It’s because the games start to darn late for people and kids to watch. When I was a kid (80’s) the games would be finishing up not long after baseball practice was over. That’s how you build an audience over time
Blasted baseball kicked “House” off the tv schedule for a couple weeks. Like there aren’t plenty of sport channels out there that could have aired the games. Glad we can get back to regular tv now.
The WS should be scheduled for late September, not November.
I remember, back in the day when I was in elementary school, the teachers who were supervising afternoon recess would be listening to the series on transistor radios. Now the games don’t start until a lot of kid’s bedtime.
Playing the World Series in November and in 40 degree temperatures is not how baseball was meant to be played. Playing the games at night instead of afternoon when it is warmer, only to satisfy television, is a mistake. One good thing about the World Series being over is we don’t have to listen to Tim McCarver and Joe Buck any more this year...
Playing the World Series in November and in 40 degree temperatures is not how baseball was meant to be played. Playing the games at night instead of afternoon when it is warmer, only to satisfy television, is a mistake. One good thing about the World Series being over is we don’t have to listen to Tim McCarver and Joe Buck any more this year...
The players are steriod, horomone mongering cheaters. The season lasts too long. The playoffs take far too long. Interleague play diminishes the novelty of the separate leagues meeting in the World Series. The games take too long. They start too late in the day, and are played too late in the year.
They had Rick Sutcliffe doing color this year.
I thought he did a pretty good job, handled it almost like a golf game, with no excessive gabbing, just relaxed, pertinent, interesting comments.
But 8:00 EST starts on a weekend? What was MLB thinking??
I do not watch TV anymore because it is an opiate for the masses and a propaganda arm of the DNC to elect usurpers. Most serfs enjoy the NFL and college games.
Joe Buck is an a*s. I would have liked to watch last night only to see Matsui. He is an incredible hitter and he is not a thug or a steroid user like ARoid. Andy Pettite is also talented but he supposedly may have had roid issues.
When I was in school, you needed to hide your transistor radio so you could listen. Games were played, during the day, in the sunshine..
I quit watching, listening to, or caring about baseball after the strike of ‘94. I swore I’d never go back and to this day, could care less if they play or not.
Import a few dozen million 3rd worlders, all with contempt for anything American (except its handouts), and the rise of soccer is not at all surprising.
I really love John Miller on the radio. I’m in the NY metro area, and I’m actually a Yankee fan, but I simply CANNOT listen to Yankee radio. They have the WORST announcers in the business. I was so happy to listen to John Miller calling the games. What a great voice. Does an excellent job. Love him. And Joe Morgan is fine for analysis. He certainly comes with credentials. I’d prefer Jim Kaat. But MOrgan will do.
...and don’t forget that the uniforms look stupid.
...miss your ‘toons!
I'm with you. I turned off tv service several months back. Good riddance. Had I wanted to watch the WS, I could have gone to the bar or to my friends house. Didn't bother. Didn't even check the results til this morning.
Like you, I'm happy for Matsui. He seems like a clean professional. And I'm always happy for Rivera. The guy grew up dirt poor in Panama using a piece of cardboard for a mit. Was hard to root for the Yankees with that loser Arod on the team. But I'm happy for the class guys on the team.
lol. I like the Yankee uniform. I actually miss the gaudy colored uniforms of the 70s, with the stirups showing. The Cards and Phils with the powder blue road uniforms. The Astros with the loud orange hats and stripes.
And why can't week-end games be on in the daylight hours? Need to increase PM ratings on Saturday, but they all do well on Sunday nights with their regular programs.
When you have the games in socal on in the late afternoon and the cold east coast games on at at 8:30 in the east that's just bassakwards.
They can't have enough rain and snow for my money until they get it right.
I'd like to see all events televised so we TIVOholics can pick and choose. Also, can go on after something happened that we didn't see and watch it.
The fact that the two teams are only 2 hours apart, and essentially in one market area MAY have something to do with the (lower) appeal.
There is a certain amount of “who care’s?” in the other baseball markets.
One should not generalize from these particulars.
Winner on Right, Loser on Left
A lot of small TV market teams involved.
An aside: I hated all the 'expansion' and I hate the DH.
Guess I'm a Baseball Luddite :-)
it doesn’t seem to hurt the NFL, having small market teams.
My comments, as a big baseball (Phillies) fan:
Baseball in “NOVEMBER” is not a ‘popular’ thing! Too many people already in the ‘winter’ cycle. The MLB made a big mistake in extending the ‘spring training - regular season’ schedule this year.
5 MONTHS of regular baseball season should be enough (APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST) with Divisional Playoffs starting in SEPTEMBER - right after Labor Day.
I still have my transister radio from the 60’s that I would sneak in to school in my lunchbox and run the earplug wire up my panleg and inside my shirt to listen to the WS. TV has destroyed the WS by putting the games on so late.
Team that should be kicked out of MLB:
Florida Marlins
Tampa Bay “Rays”
Arizona Dimondbacks
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington “Nationals”
And the Pirates' mix-and-match uniforms where every player could have a different combination of shirt, pant and cap and still all be in uniform.
Willie Stargell wearing all bright yellow clothes is still burned in my retina.
My 7, 8 and 10 y/o boys have really taken a liking to baseball this year.
But when the World Series games start at 8pm for an east Coast game, on a school night, how are they supposed to get involved with it???
Start the games at 6pm.
But the Yankees are BORING - who wants to watch a buncha multimillionaires play ball?
I've heard that A-Rod makes more in one year than ALL the players salaries added together in some of the other teams.
YAWN.
That is boring, to simply buy all the best players and then pretend there is any real competition between teams.
VERY boring, why'd I want to watch a bunch multimillionaires "win" a "world series," the people in MLB who think this stuff up, they must be nuts.
True. But with the World Series you can have West Coast teams that start to late for those in EST or CST. During the season when the White Sox go on a west coast road trip I don't even watch, way past my bed time. But with the NFL the playoffs and Super Bowl are always shown at a decent - convenient - time.
Plus MLB lost a lot of older fans during the strikes.
(Overpaid babies crying for more money)
NEW YORK YANKEES - WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!
Baseball is Number 2!
Soccer Sucks! Sorry Anthony....
Ditto to all. Except 'maybe' the Washington “Nationals”
I grew up on baseball when DC had the 'Senators'. I didn't like their move to Minnesota. So I'm a tad partial to a team playing there.
I agree with everything you said, except I still love the game. What everyone has missed is that you either love the Yankees because you grew up or live in the NYC area , or you HATE the Yankees because they have spent over $1 BILLION(not including the new stadium) since their last championship. I watched the first few innings but turned it off when it looked like the Yankees would win. I think alot more people hate the Yankees now than love them. I do not hate the players just the team in general.
Baseball is not fair anymore. The Milwaukee Brewers, KC Royals , etc. cannot generate the revenue bigger metro markets can generate with their cable stations owned by the teams. Therefore, they cannot afford the payroll of the Yankees, Red Sox, etc.
This is not the case in the NFL. That is why baseball viewership is down, plus it is on too late and the season is too long and all the other previously mentioned reasons.
Baseball was never fair. Why do you think the Yankees won all those titles. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been that way for a long time. I agree that the unfairness makes it harder to enjoy. But I’m not sure that’s the reason for decline. It seems to me urban culture moved on to basketball and football, and much of white America apes (no pun intended har har!) urban culture. Hence, basketball and football are “cool” and baseball isn’t. Also, football is more popular at the high school and college levels, which help the NFL. Personally, I find all sports boring, and try not to watch unless I have nothing to do. I don’t like watching other people do stuff when I could be doing stuff myself.
TV owns MLB. They want the games scheduled at a time & day that does not compete with either college or pro football. It tells you that they don't think baseball can compete. This year with 2 major-market teams playing they might have been wrong.
I'd like to see the season shortened while keeping the 162-game season. The average regular season series should be increased by 1 game with a day-night doubleheader in the 5-game series. It would cut down the travel and shorten the season by perhaps 2 weeks. Getting the WS wrapped-up in October should be the goal.
Exactly - and the Superbowl should be the 1st week of January at the latest.
All of those towns would make great AAA farm teams. (Well, maybe not Washington DC!)
That's correct. We have hockey to watch, though that needs to be over by ~April 15.
They have their baggage also...the Detroit Lions for example
What’s “World” doing in the name “World Series”?
Because the networks are showing football games on weekend afternoons.
You heard wrong.
The pro version of the game has evolved into a snooz fest. I can’t take sitting there for 3 minutes between each pitch. The games take FOREVER to play. I don’t have that kind of leisure time, I’m not French fro cryin out loud!
I still LOVE the Little League world series! AWESOME! Throw, hit, run. Love it!
The pro version of the game has evolved into a snooz fest. I can’t take sitting there for 3 minutes between each pitch. The games take FOREVER to play. I don’t have that kind of leisure time, I’m not French for cryin out loud!
I still LOVE the Little League world series! AWESOME! Throw, hit, run. Love it!
Where do all the best players in the “World” come to play?
The Yankees have a Dominican second baseman and center fielder, a third baseman born to Dominican parents, 2 Puerto Rican catchers, a Venezuelan catcher, a Japanese DH, a Taiwanese pitcher, a Mexican pitcher, a Panamanian pitcher and a Dominican pitcher to go along with their American stars.
The season is far too long, everyone except fans of the final two teams are already deep into football and hockey, and the series games often end at something like 1 a.m. in the East. Why is anyone surprised people are losing interest?
In my elementary school back in the 60's, they piped the series out over the PA system. It was great!
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