World Series Ratings Spike @ Fox Sports en Español.
October 8, 2004
The 2004 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals on Fox Sports en Español proved to be a ratings winner with both adults and men 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The World Series telecasts generated average coverage ratings of 1.23 among adults 18-49 and 1.33 among men 18-49, posting gains of 19% and 30%, respectively, over the previous year’s World Series. Viewing households averaged impressive gains of 46% (73,000 vs. 50,000) and 42% (44,000 vs. 31,000), in adults and men 18-49, respectively, over 2003.
The 2004 Major League Baseball postseason marked the fourth consecutive year the telecasts were presented exclusively in Spanish on Fox Sports en Español, and the improbable success of the “Medias Rojas” (Red Sox) generated unprecedented interest among Spanish-speaking audiences. Game Seven of the American League Championship Series on October 20 between the Red Sox and their archrivals, the New York Yankees, netted the highest rating to date for an LCS telecast since Fox Sports en Español acquired the MLB postseason. Fox Sports en Español delivered a 4.74 average household coverage rating (138,000 households), beating last year’s LCS record from Game Six between the Red Sox and Yankees by +3% (4.74 vs. 4.6).
“The drama and excitement of this year’s World Series clearly resonated with the U.S. Hispanic community, who tuned into Fox Sports en Español to watch the Red Sox make history, ” said Tom Maney, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales for Fox Sports en Español. “Our ratings knocked in some nice runs for our sponsors.”
Fox Sports en Español packaged its telecasts with live Spanish-language commentary and graphics throughout the pre-game, in-game and post-game shows, and featured extensive interviews with Latin players. Fernando González and José Tolentino hosted the studio segments of all the productions, while Pepe Mantilla, former San Francisco Giants second baseman Tito Fuentes, Rafael “Felo” Ramírez and Pepe Yñiguez pitched in to share the play-by-play and color commentary duties.
