How can the World Series be as big as the Super Bowl?

[nodakfan17]

Monday Night Football isn't either. Also, a lot of games are on the semi-inaccessible NFL Network.

 

True, but MNF on ESPN only runs through the regular season. All NFL playoff games are broadcast on one of three major networks and are played on either Saturday or Sunday.

 

 

Yeah, not to be inconsiderate, but I would guess at least 75% of the country has access to TBS, or ESPN for that matter.

No offense taken ... I have no idea what percentage of the population has cable television (help, anyone?). Suppose it is 75%. Wouldn't a major network broadcast of the ALCS/NLCS potentially increase viewership by 33%? I only have my own intuition to backup this assertion, but if an individual sits down and watches a few playoff games in early October, aren't they more likely to tune into the World Series?

[bucks2281]

FOX gave up the rights to the LDS in return for Saturday baseball the entire year. Before 2007, FOX didn't start its Saturday coverage until the end of May; now it starts the first Saturday of the season. I guess you have to decide what you think is more important for baseball. Nodakfan, I guess you just have to consider the direction that sports on network TV is headed. The BCS has been "relegated" to ESPN in January 2011, the NBA broadcasts way fewer playoff/regular season games on network TV than they used to (remember how most of the Bucks playoff games in 2001 were on NBC?), and the NFL Network has become a force.

 

The games are just too long. Unless the Brewers or Cubs are playing, I don't have the patience to sit through a whole baseball game, and I know many people share that feeling with me.

[MJLiverock]

Here is a little info on cable and satellite penetration by DMA.

 

http://www.tvb.org/rcentr...DS_Penetration_by_DMA.asp sattelite TV Penetration by DMA.

 

A place like NYC is 95% penetrated, Madison, WI is 80%, Milwaukee is 79%, Chicago 86%. (Madison pay TV subs are split 60/40 for cable/Satellite, or other as well and has been trending away from cable for months. Charter really did lose a lot of subs with the whole NFL Network/Big 10 Network spat).

So the 75% estimates is probably safe enough to use and maybe even a little conservative.

 

Assuming a 33% increase in viewership if on over the air and 100% penetration probably gets hurt by selection bias. A good portion of that 25% are probably just not that interested in TV so they don't pay for it (some may be poor but a lot of poor people still subscribe to cable because it is a priority or entertainment). Many of those people also may just not be that interested in watching sports which is another reason they don't subscribe to cable. Live sports are typically among the highest rated cable shows - - driven by the many sports fans who just have to have cable so they can watch sports.

[nodakfan17]

Bucks2281 & MJLiverock-

Thanks for the responses. They made a good deal of sense to me. I guess I'm just stuck on the fond memories that I have of watching the MLB / NBA playoffs in the mid 1990s. Outside of "game of the week" type broadcasts, the playoffs were the only chance I had to catch pro baseball and basketball. It was a real treat to watch these games on a weeknight and something that I looked forward to every year as a teenager. I probably would not be the type of sports fan that I am had it not been for those broadcasts. I'd live and die by the Packers like a lot of other people who grew up in Green Bay.

[crock921]

As others have said, the WS won't ever be as big as the SB because you have to market up to 7 games vs 1. Plus, because football has such a short.concise season (21 games vs 180+), there is a higher percentage of people watching because there aren't as many games. I can catch a baseball game just about any day during the summer, but I know I have to wait until Sunday to watch football.

 

I think a salary cap would help improve ratings though, since people are tired of the yanks/cubs/sox being so much more overpowered than teams like milwaukee.

[TabbertBB]

Same reason the Final Four is such a Big Deal--- One and Done vs. Best of 5 or 7.