My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center site at Indiana University is on ratings and the All-Star Game. They have been in decline in recent years.
From the column:
In 1986, Tim McCarver worked his first MLB All-Star game as an analyst for ABC. Pairing with Al Michaels and Jim Palmer, the game did a 20 rating with a 35 share. An average of nearly 30 million viewers tuned in to watch the American League’s 3-2 victory in Houston.
Fast forward to Tuesday night in New York. McCarver will call his 22d and final All-Star game, this time working with Joe Buck at Fox.
Depending on the quality of the game, there’s a strong possibility Fox’s rating could be one-third of what it was for McCarver’s first All-Star game in 1986.
Now let’s not get into a prolonged discussion on how the TV landscape has changed since the 80s. In 1982, 44 percent of U.S. televisions in use were tuned into the All-Star game on that night. The all-time high was a 53 share in 1976.
OK, those days are long gone. However, this is about recent history. Last year’s game in Kansas City did a 6.8 rating with a 12 share. The game averaged nearly 11 million viewers.
The TV numbers were the worst in All-Star Game history. They are off sharply since the ’08 game in Yankee Stadium, which did a 9.3 rating, 16 share, and an average of 14.5 million viewers.
Since then:
2009: 8.9 rating, 15 share, 14,610,000 viewers.
2010: 7.5, 13, 12,100,000
2011: 6.9, 12, 11,000,000
2012: 6.8, 12, 10,900,000
So what’s going on? Why the major tune-out for the Mid-Summer Classic?
During a conference call with reporters last week, Eric Shanks, Fox Sports’ co-president, tried to put on a positive spin despite the recent declining numbers.
Problem? What problem?
“The Mid-Summer Classic is still a jewel event,” Shanks said. “At Fox Sports, we look at it as a part of our total baseball business. We still have a healthy local baseball business and very strong demand for our national business and strong demand for the All-Star Game. When you put it in context among all of the entertainment choices out there, this is the top end of the summer. Not just the All-Star Game, but baseball itself. The national game of the week on Saturday nights is winning the night against all networks. I feel that it’s very healthy.”
Healthy, though, is a relative term. While Fox and MLB might not admit it publicly, a 25-30 percent drop in ratings for the All-Star Game has to be cause for concern.
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For more analysis, check out my NSJC column.
Ed, you posed the same question last fall when The World Series ratings stunk, and my answer is the same.
Baseball just isn’t appointment viewing anymore for the older generation, as daily TV OVERSATURATION has made it lose any kind of “specialness”. When I was a kid, all we got was our local team’s road telecasts and the NBC game of the week. Now, I can turn on cabe tv and get approx. 4 games daily, and I don’t even have the MLB season pass.
And of course, today’s kids (for the most part) just don’t want to watch televised baseball. For them it’s all about UFC and the X Games…
They say it counts, but the game is run w idea of getting everyone into game – cant serve two masters – no one is satisfied – plus too many dumb people in America – smart people like baseball
Now that it’s a crap-how-can-I-get-everyone-an-at-bat exhibition instead of a real All-Star Game, it’s only fun to watch for about 2 innings. If that long. I’d like to see a real team of Trout, Cano, Cabrera get 4 at-bats apiece, or at least 3 ABs. The game was more fun to watch in the ’70s and ’80s when Pete Rose played the entire game.
I haven’t watched the All Star Game in decades now. The main reason is simply this, it’s become a popularity contest.
The ‘best’ players don’t get elected, only the most popular often from the biggest markets (i.e. New York City and Boston)
The voting is a farce.
If fans have to have a vote (and I don’t think they should have any say) it should be, one fan…one vote. Not one fan…as many votes as you can.
Reason #1 Cognitive dissonance – MLB says it “counts,” but managers run game like their only goal is to get everyone on roster in game. It is an inconsistent message: THIS TIME IT COUNTS, but the players on the field at the end are typically injury replacements and mandatory (one per team) players.
Reason #2: Dumb people dont like baseball. More and more people these days are dumb.
Ed … I love it that you have an association with IU! Hope you didn’t have to turn in your Orange Crush credentials. The All-Star Game? Didn’t watch a minute. If Sox are playing like a Triple A team, I just don’t care about MLB. Yes, I am that fair-weather fan.
Thanks, Alan.
I think interleague play took a lot of the magic out of the All-Star Game. And they can say the game “counts,” but no one involved really treats it like a meaningful competition.