Even the Giants' local market cares 37% less than it did 2 years ago
"With Bondsmania nonexistent, it was fitting that Fox did not cut into the late portions of the New York and Chicago games with the Bonds at-bat that yielded No. 714. Fox felt it would alienate fans watching the Yankees and Mets by leaving as Billy Wagner was melting down. And the Cubs-White Sox was midway through a commercial break.
The 714th homer was shown on tape a minute later, leading Tim McCarver, calling the Yankees-Mets game with Joe Buck, to say, "I never thought any of us would ever see Babe Ruth's home run record tied as anticlimactically as it just was." Buck added, "It strikes me as just another highlight."
That ho-hum attitude may have been shared by viewers in the Giants' local market, where the game recorded a 6.0 rating — a stunning 37 percent below what the last Giants-A's game on Fox got in 2004.
The Hank Aaron story riveted the nation. The Bonds tale is boring us. That was the implicit message when ESPN shelved the "Bonds on Bonds" vanity series short of its planned July conclusion. The network ran one episode last night and will run a finale Monday — amid prayers at the ESPN empire that he will hit his 715th by then — but might produce specials if a story arises.
"The story just didn't happen," John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president for content, said yesterday. A lost narrative equals lousy ratings, especially for a series for which ESPN reportedly paid $4.5 million." from the NY Times, by Richard Sandomir 5/26/06
- He adds Pedro Gomez is off the Barry Beat. There is no more Barry beat.
posted by susan at
5/25/2006 11:36:00 PM
2 Comments:
THey may have lost interest, but they never should have launched that series in the first place. ESPN are whores to ratings and celebrity, and would give child molestors their own series if they were pursuing a record. The night that slug tied Ruth they have a five minute edited homage to Bonds which was beyond nauseating. ESPN should be unplugged.
By
Anonymous, at 6:35 AM
Agree completely. We need highlight shows, but that's all we need. The
rest of the garbage & bias of ESPN is
a waste at best.
By
susan, at 12:49 PM
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