Phillies not bad for Fox TV; Dodgers better

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This is from Michael Heistand, the sports media columnist for USA Today:

‘Fox drew 5.1% of U.S. TV households for its Los Angeles Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies NLCS Game 1 Thursday — up 6% from its Cleveland Indians-Boston playoff game in the time slot last year. (FYI: That 5.1% rating is about one-tenth the total ratings that NFL regular-season games produce weekly, albeit via action spread across five TV time slots.)

‘While Fox understandably wants a World Series between the brand names in the big markets — L.A. vs. Boston — its rating for NLCS Game 1 suggests there might be a consolation prize if the Phillies make the Series. Philadelphia, the USA’s No. 4 TV market, turned in by far the highest local rating Thursday — 23.9% of households — followed by L.A., with just 9.4%.’

That might be a little unfair to the L.A. market. Although there probably is more intense interest in the Phillies in Philadelphia than there is about the Dodgers in Los Angeles -- there is probably more intensity in Philadelphia about all things than there is in Los Angeles -- that game started in prime time on the East Coast and during rush hour here.

And ask Fox which series the net would rather have. Manny Ramirez wearing a Dodgers uniform in Fenway Park would be too good to miss.

--Randy Harvey