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Fueled by outstanding individual and team performances, dramatic come-from-behind wins and the most one-run games in a single postseason, each round of the 2009 MLB Postseason generated double-digit percentage year-to-year increases in average viewership as compared to 2008, capped by the 2009 World Series averaging 19.4 million viewers, a +42% increase over last year and the largest-ever year-to-year gain in viewership (previous high was 36% from 2000-2001, which followed a low viewership showing for the Subway Series).
Complete 2009 MLB Postseason coverage on FOX and TBS averaged 9.0 million viewers, up +30% over last year and the most-watched since 2005. In addition to the +42% viewership gain for the World Series on FOX, viewership for the Division Series on TBS was up +11% over last year and viewership for the League Championship Series on FOX and TBS increased +14% over 2008.
The 2009 MLB Postseason delivered extraordinary results for FOX and TBS, including leading TBS to the most-watched week in its 33-year history, and catapulting FOX to a commanding +22% lead in the key
Adult 18-49 demographic against its network competition. The huge Adult 18-49 season-to-date advantage for FOX is the largest in the network’s history in the fourth quarter and the largest fourth-quarter lead for any network since 2003.
With MLB and FOX moving most games to begin before 8:00 p.m. ET this year, the World Series led FOX to be the highest-rated network in primetime on each of the six nights that games aired. Overall the MLB Postseason led FOX to primetime victories on nine of the eleven nights when it broadcast Postseason baseball, and MLB Postseason games on FOX delivered the five highest-rated nights in primetime on any network this season (9/21/09 to present).
The increase in World Series viewership should be tempered with the fact that the 2008 World Series was the least viewed World Series in history since Nielsen began tracking figures in 1968. The 2009 World Series will go down in history as the fouth highest viewed World Series of the last decade following 2003, 1999, 2001, and 2004.
Below is a breakdown of World Series viewership over the last decade
MLB WORLD SERIES VIEWERSHIP ON FOX SINCE 1999
(Winning team in BOLD)
| YEAR |
AL TEAM |
NL TEAM |
AVG. # OF VIEWERS |
% (+/-) |
| 2009 |
New York Yankees |
Philadelphia Philles |
19,400,000 |
42 |
| 2008 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
Philadelphia Phillies |
13,635,000 |
-20 |
| 2007 |
Boston Red Sox |
Colorado Rockies |
17,123,000 |
8 |
| 2006 |
Detroit Tigers |
St. Louis Cardinals |
15,812,000 |
-8 |
| 2005 |
Chicago White Sox |
Houston Astros |
17,162,000 |
-32 |
| 2004 |
Boston Red Sox |
St. Louis Cardinals |
25,390,000 |
26 |
| 2003 |
NY Yankees |
Florida Marlins |
20,143,000 |
5 |
| 2002 |
LA Angels |
SF Giants |
19,261,000 |
-21 |
| 2001 |
NY Yankees |
Arizona Dbacks |
24,528,000 |
36 |
| 2000 |
NY Yankees |
NY Mets |
18,081,000 |
-24 |
| 1999 |
NY Yankees |
Atlanta Braves |
23,731,000 |
|
| Source: The Nielsen Company 2009 |
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