FOX50 Scores With Pennant Races

Local FOX affiliate WRAZ-TV pulled strong ratings in the Triangle during the 2003 pennant races between the Chicago Cubs & Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees. FOX50, headquartered in Durham, even garnered higher ratings that the stellar numbers during the 2002 World Series.

The Wednesday, October 15th, Game 7 of the National League Series between the Cubs & Marlines delivered a 15.1/22 HH rating/share, which made it the number 1 Prime-time program in the market. The number two show that night, ABC’s “My Wife and Kids,” trailed with 10.2/15.

The Thursday, October 16th Redsox/Yankees game delivered a 12.8/21, behind CSI (17.6/25) and Survivor:Pearl (14.9/22) both on WRAL(CBS).

Last year the World Series seven-game average was 7.5/8. The highest rated game in last year’s World Series, game 7, delivered a 12.9/19.

The 2003 pennant race ratings had other national networks shuffling their new fall schedules because of the high viewership the games pulled. CBS & NBC yanked new editions of CSI and Friends, respectively, during the Thursday night American League championship final game and during the National League game on Wednesday, NBC opted to broadcast re-runs of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order instead of new episodes of The West Wing and Law & Order.