Football Beats Baseball on TV
Regular-season football edged out playoff baseball in the ratings game Monday night.
According to Nielsen ratings released Tuesday, Indianapolis’ overtime victory over Tampa Bay on ABC got a 10.2 national rating with a 17 share, while the Boston Red Sox’s series-clinching victory over Oakland on Fox drew an 8.5/13.
The ratings for the football game dropped off in the second half, as Tampa Bay appeared to be on its way to an easy victory. The Buccaneers led by 21 points with less than four minutes to play. The national rating peaked at 11.8 from 6:30-7 p.m., but dropped to an 8.9 from 8-8:30. Then the rating was back up to 9.8 from 8:30-9 p.m.
-- Larry Stewart
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