MLB ALL-STAR GAME REAFFIRMED AS PREMIER ANNUAL TV EVENT OF SUMMER AS TOTAL VIEWERSHIP INCREASES

Ratings Surge Among Younger Viewers; Men 18-34 & Key Adult Demographics Improve vs. '11

Social Media Activity on FOX Platforms Soars 262%

Kansas City, MO - As the biggest All-Star Game audience since 2009 was still settling in to watch the 83rd MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME, the National League raced out to a five-run lead before the American League even came to bat en route to an 8-0 rout last night amidst the soaring fountains at beautiful Kauffman Stadium.

Despite the N.L. onslaught and lopsided victory in the 83rd MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME - the third-widest margin of victory ever - the game broadcast on FOX delivered 27.7 million total viewers (persons age 2+ watching all or part of the game), +7% compared to a year ago, reaffirming it as the premier annual television event of the summer. The 7% surge matches the biggest increase in total viewership for an All-Star Game since 1998. The game earned a 6.8/12 household rating/share, averaging 10.9 million viewers, narrowly missing last year's 6.9/12 by -1% in rating and average audience (11 million). In fact, the margin between the 2012 rating and last year is razor thin, just four hundredths of a ratings point, according to figures released today by Nielsen Media Research.

Initial tune-in for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game was very strong. The game opened at a 6.5/12, +7% over last year's 6.1/11 and was the best first-pitch tune-in for an All-Star Game since 2009, which was driven by a pregame appearance by President Obama.

Perhaps intrigued by the presence of blossoming young stars like Mike Trout, teammates Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, younger viewers tuned-in to this year's All-Star Game in better numbers. Last night's Midsummer Classic earned a 4.0 among Men 18-34, a +5% bump over last year, and FOX was also up across the key adult demographics including Adults 18-34 (+11%, 3.0 vs. 2.7), Adults 18-49 (+3%, 3.2 vs. 3.1) and Adults 25-54 (+3%, 3.8 vs. 3.7).

Riding the All-Star Game, FOX won the night effortlessly. Last night's 8:00-11:00 PM ET primetime average made this FOX's highest-rated night since the American Idol finale, and the highest-rated night of broadcast network television since Game 5 of this year's NBA Finals on ABC.

St. Louis topped all markets for the All-Star Game for the sixth consecutive year with a 20.5/33, followed by host market Kansas City (18.7/31), nearly doubling the 10.6/19 earned by host market Phoenix last year. Other markets of note included Washington, whose young stars drove a +36% increase locally, and Dallas, whose eight Rangers All-Stars provided a +22% lift there. Ratings in top ten markets include: New York - 9.7; LA - 7.0; Chicago - 8.0; Philadelphia - 9.4; Dallas - 11.6; SF - 9.8; Boston - 7.7; Washington, DC - 8.7; Atlanta - 8.6; and Houston - 5.2.

Social media metrics issued today as measured by Bluefin Labs indicate that the All-Star Game on FOX's Facebook and Twitter platforms was up 262% in unique users (439K vs. 121K) vs. 2011, and +261% in total comments (808K vs. 224K), with each unique user averaging two comments during the broadcast. Total comments and unique users refer to public Twitter tweets and public Facebook posts about the broadcast.