Phillies didn't win on Saturday night, but Fox sure did

FROM KEITH GROLLER

The riveting Giants-Phillies Game 6 on Saturday night provided a big downer for Philadelphia, but was a ratings winner, and so was the entire NLCS on Fox.

It was the highest rated NLCS since Cardinals-Mets in 2006 and you wonder if this NLCS will outrate the upcoming World Series. Certainly, Fox was not hoping for Giants-Rangers, especially since the Yankees and Phillies delivered a huge number last year.

They had to be hoping for a rematch as were so many people around here.

Didn't happen. Now, they'll brace themselves for a ratings tumble.

Here's the release from Fox, touting the high numbers for the NLCS:



GIANTS/PHILLIES ON FOX CLINCHES HIGHEST-RATED & MOST-WATCHED NLCS SINCE 2006



Series Viewership Up +49%, Rating Up +45% Over 2009



Game 6 Rating Up +34%



New York, NY – The 2010 National League Championship Series on FOX between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies ended in dramatic fashion Saturday night with a thrilling Game 6 that delivered a 6.7/12 household rating/share (11.6 million viewers) according to fast national ratings release by Nielsen Media Research. Last night’s rating is +34% better than last year’s series ending Game 5 of the NLCS on TBS (5.0/9, 8.0 million viewers) and up +31% over 2008’s decisive NLCS Game 5 on FOX (5.1/8, 8.0 million viewers).



The competitive 2010 NLCS on FOX averaged a 5.5/10 (9.1 million viewers), an increase of +49% in viewership, +45% in household rating over last year’s NLCS on TBS (3.8/7, 6.1 million viewers) and ranks as Major League Baseball’s highest-rated and most-watched NLCS since 2006 (Cardinals-Mets) which went seven games (7.1/12, 10.5 million viewers).



NLCS Game 6 on FOX steadily grew throughout the evening eventually peaking at 11:45 PM ET with a 10.0/20 (17.3 million viewers) as San Francisco closer Brian Wilson silenced the Philly faithful striking out Philadelphia superstar Ryan Howard to end the game and advance his team into the 2010 World Series. For the night, NLCS Game 6 powered FOX to an easy victory in prime time averaging a 6.5/12 (8:00-11:00 PM ET) beating ABC (3.9), CBS (3.5) and NBC (2.5) to rank as FOX’s highest-rated and most-watched Saturday night in nearly a year.



Philadelphia led all markets for Game 6 with a 33.4/54, followed by San Francisco with a 28.9/53. In the final quarter of last night’s telecast (11:45 PM ET), Philadelphia soared to a 37.9/63 while San Francisco swelled to a 39.3/63.

Exclusive coverage of World Series Game 1 on FOX between the American League Champion Texas Rangers and National League Champion San Francisco Giants begins Wednesday, October 27 (7:30 PM ET) from AT&T Park in San Francisco.

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