Although the "subway" World Series turned out to be a hit in New York, it struck out in most other American cities, earning only an average 12.4 rating and a 21 share nationally, according to Nielsen Research. The figure represented a 23-percent dive from last year's ratings, when the Series was televised by NBC, and a 21 percent dip from the 1998 series, which was also televised by Fox. Since the series ended after only five games, Fox will now have to give advertisers make-goods in primetime during the remainder of the regular season. Today's (Monday) Wall Street Journal observed that the ratings drop reflects an overall decline in viewership for sports programs, which many analysts blame on oversaturation. "We're beginning to see sports eroding because it is available everywhere," Stacey Lynn Koerner of True North Communications told the WSJ.

Source: Studio Briefing