With Ratings Down, FOX Looks for Ways to Get More People Watching

Ratings for Saturday's national baseball broadcasts on FOX are down 9 percent against last season at this time, the continuation of a trend that's troubling to the network. Last year's World Series was the lowest rated in history, regular season games are down 23 percent since 2000 and, since they're paying $255 million a year to show baseball games, they'd like that to change.

Following the long-standing axiom that there's no better way to get people excited than to bring Bud Selig into the mix, network executives will be meeting with the baseball commissioner next week to talk strategies. Hopefully, they'll come up with some new ideas because the ones they have aren't too inspiring.

According to the Wall Street Journal, plans include scheduling more baseball movies on FX and running more ads featuring Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Are there really people who aren't already watching baseball who would be inspired to start doing so because they learn that Buck and McCarver are involved? Perhaps, but it would almost certainly be inversely proportional to the number of people who would be watching games on FOX if it wasn't for the fact that Buck and McCarver were calling the games.

FOX says they aren't particularly concerned with the ratings for the regular season games, which only represent 10 percent of the value of the annual rights fee. The idea is to reverse the downward trend for the All-Star Game and World Series, a difficult task in the abstract. Trying to plan for a way to do it without any guarantees about the teams (and market sizes) that the baseball gods send your way seems like a losing battle no matter how you slice it.

If they get a matchup that is compelling beyond the baseball fans who will always watch these games, the ratings will improve. If they don't, the ratings will stagnate or stay the same. There's very little the network or the league can do about that in May, especially since Selig's big idea at generating excitement is making exhibition games count.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-26-2009 @ 2:45PM

mastanameless16 said...

I have an idea....take the games off FOX completely. Then I'll watch. They do a horrible job of covering sports, about a notch above the way Versus covers hockey I'd say. Not to mention that McCarver is the worst and most annoying broadcaster I've ever heard.

FOX is useless with the exception of Family Guy, and even that isn't the same anymore. They should stick to Nascar and King of the Hill, then I can ignore it all together.

5-26-2009 @ 3:01PM

Barbie said...

Fox could get rid of that droning blowhard Joe Buck for starters. He makes baseball unwatchable for me. Awful awful awful.

5-26-2009 @ 3:19PM

sirbaseball said...

Get rid of Tim, he is the worst!!!

5-26-2009 @ 3:36PM

icerxl7890 said...

new idea, less commericials. when watching the world series, i could have sworn there was a 3 minute long commercial break between every break. no one wants to be up until 3 in the morning watching a game that started a 6:30 that evening. seriously just cut back on about 60% if the damn commercials.

5-26-2009 @ 3:37PM

i meant to say every pitch not every break.

5-26-2009 @ 6:14PM

Like I said Tim is the worst but at least FOX doesn't have Joe Morgan he is a real idot.

5-30-2009 @ 9:06PM

Kuhndog said...

I agree Morgan sucks at announcing....he is too busy name-dropping the ball players he "knows". If they really want to improve ratings, stop bringing Yankees, Red Sox and Mets games every other game. (I'm talking to you ESPN). Show teams that don't get as much press.....the Brewers/Twins game was a great game to watch, I don't get to see muchof either team and there was NO MORGAN that night....it was great.

5-26-2009 @ 7:33PM

Steve said...

get rid of McCarver!! he talks just way to much..you don't need to analyize EVERY pitch. Don't "educate" me.. "entertain" me.

5-26-2009 @ 8:54PM

Hey What's Tony said...

1. Ballclubs are ran like fortune 500 companies. I am a passionate Mets fan- I became disguested after they torn down Shea. Now tickets are so unaffordable, I hate watching the Mets franchise rob their fans in such troubleing times. Average people can't afford to go bring the family to a ball game anymore.
2. Stop putting dry, boring, unexcited commentators on television. It boils down to this folks, C.E.O's are so used to people kissing their asses, nobody challenges dumb ideas. ( like Joe Buck- rhymes with suck )
3. People are fed-up with baseball period! Steriods, Sky high ticket prices, sky high salaries, billion dollar stadiums taken out on the fans / taxpayers. It's all b.s! CORPORATE GRAY KILLED AMERICA, SPORTS, THE ECONOMY- EVERYTHING! Until the US is gainfully employed again, you can forget Fox's ratings- I'm more worried about my family eating... Bring the jobs back from what used to be 3rd world countries to the US- Then the ratings & attendance will rise. Either that, or just lower the cost of going to a damn game!!! Ridiculous!

5-27-2009 @ 1:23AM

Puck said...

Hey Tony: Amen: baseball stadiums used to be more like public parks, now they're fleecing stations. Tom "money in my hands" of Dominos fame ruined it for me, turning the old Tiger stadium into his personal fleecing unit: can't bring in food or drink for safety and health concerns - b.s.. He even went so far as to outlaw chanting in the center field bleachers when Cecil Fielder was going for 50 homers, never mind the partitioning of the "ball park", and inventing the law where you can't move to a closer seat in the later innings in a 50k seat stadium with 10k fans in attendance on a Tuesday night...pathetic. And the new Yankee stadium - one big gross friggin' billboard - same thing with the broadcasts - one continuous friggin' commercial: "the first pitch of the game brought to you by First National Bank of America...the second pitch of the game brought to you by Second National Bank of America...third pitch"...puke!

5-27-2009 @ 8:33AM

Hello Larry !!!! said...

too many commercials, too many commercial breaks, too long commercial breaks...television has ruined sports.

games start too late at night, see the same teams ever time and there is so much emphasis on everything but the game i.e. cheerleaders, who is in the stands, what this former ex player thinks about blah, blah, blah.

ticket prices are too high, paying for parking is a scam, the price of the concessions is absurd - how much longer do you think people are going to keep paying $8 for a draft beer ?

5-27-2009 @ 11:42PM

amatv said...

1. the announcers are borrrrrring as heck
2. the announcers are borrring as hell
3. Tim McCarver needs to drink 3 beers before the game
4. Phil Rizzuto and Haray Caray need to be dug up and paired in the booth
5. Kenny Albert and Joe Buck are bubble-headed boobys
6. the meeting with Bug Selig to solve the problem is halarious
7. "promos" featuring Buck and McCarver? hahahah.
8. the batter cannot leave the batter box. BINGO!

5-29-2009 @ 6:26PM

Geezer said...

What makes them think that more Joe Buck will INCREASE ratings? He can't even read off a cue card let alone mustering up even fake excitement for the games he calls.