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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DELIVERS FOX SPORTS A TRIPLE CROWN IN 2015
Viewership Up on FOX and FS1
FOX Sports Regional Networks Rank No. 1 in Primetime Locally;
Royals On-Pace to Record Best Local Rating in 13 Years
Los Angeles - The 2015 Major League Baseball regular season delivered the viewership equivalent of the Triple Crown for FOX Sports, powering significant ratings and audience successes on FOX, FS1 and FOX Sports Regional Networks.
Leading the season's positive delivery were MLB on FOX game telecasts which produced a +16% increase in average viewers over 2014 on FOX broadcast network (2.2 million vs. 1.9 million), and a +25% household (HH) rating boost in the key Adult 18-49 demographic (0.5 vs. 0.4).
Also impressive was the viewership growth on FS1, as America's fastest growing sports cable network's package of games turned a +22% average audience increase (504,000 vs. 413, 000), driven by a dramatic +44% rise in the rating among in the Men 18-34 coverage area rating and a +23% increase in the Men 18-49 category.
Continuing a popular trend, in-market games dominated primetime throughout the season on FOX Sports' Regional Networks, highlighted by six different MLB teams ranking No. 1 in their respective markets in average primetime ratings. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays ranked No. 1 in primetime in their markets, posting higher local HH ratings than all other broadcast and cable network programming airing locally from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM ET. Additional local highlights follow (Note: ratings information as of Oct. 1):
- Leading the charge on the regional front are the American League Central Division champion Kansas City Royals, who averaged a 12.3 household rating on FOX Sports Kansas City (all games), on pace to be the highest-rated MLB team in its local market since the Seattle Mariners posted a 13.2 rating in 2002.
- The Royals also averaged a 13.0 household rating in primetime on FS Kansas City, beating the most popular entertainment programs on television in the market.
- On FOX Sports Midwest, the National League Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals averaged a record 10.0 rating over the course of the season (all games), improving significantly on 2014's 7.9 and besting the previous high mark of 9.4 set in 2010.
- The Cardinals posted a 10.8 household rating in primetime in St. Louis, joining the Royals in topping several of today's biggest entertainment shows in that market.
FOX Sports' 20th presentation of MLB's Postseason begins Thursday, Oct. 8 at 3:00 PM ET on FS1 with the official MLB on FS1 PREGAME SHOW, featuring host Kevin Burkhardt alongside Hall of Famer Frank Thomas and all-time hits leader Pete Rose, live from the Los Angeles studio. Following the one-hour pregame show, coverage of the American League Division Series begins at 4:00 PM ET. FOX Sports is also home to the American League Championship Series and the 111th World Series, televised for the 16th consecutive year exclusively on FOX.
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