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Few would disagree a more tantalizing World Series this year
would have featured the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers
as they are storied MLB franchises that play in the two biggest
U.S. media markets.
But the Dodgers, who enjoyed a franchise-record 111 wins in the
regular season, lost in the National League Division Series
while the Yankees lost to the Astros in the American League
Championship Series.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was already hitting TV ratings out
of the park this year as he chased down the American League
single-season home run record.
"The initial reaction is: 'Well it's not the Dodgers and the
Yankees,'" Neal Pilson, president of Pilson Communications and
former president of CBS Sports, told Reuters when asked about
this year's World Series matchup.
"But we tend to forget Philadelphia and Houston are big markets
so you are always helped when you have big-market teams."
From evergreen Astros ace Justin Verlander, who is looking to
bolster his Hall of Fame resume, to Phillies slugger Bryce
Harper, a generational talent whose homer propelled his team to
the World Series, the potential for drama is there.
From a ratings perspective, Pilson said the ideal scenario would
be for the best-of-seven World Series, which begins on Friday
and will appear exclusively on FOX Sports, to exceed five games.
"History tells us that ratings dramatically improve as you get
deeper into the final no matter what sport you are talking
about," said Pilson.
"So if we see six or seven games from this World Series, that
will, almost by definition, tell you that it's been competitive
and it's probably been exciting."
The 2021 World Series, which Atlanta won in six games over
Houston, averaged 11.75 million viewers.
According to MLB.com, the clash between the 106-win Astros and
87-win Phillies marks the second-largest win disparity between
World Series opponents.
But that does not necessarily portend a dull contest.
"What happens is after game one or game two, storylines will
develop," said Pilson. "Unexpected events will take place...If
the games are close and competitive, I think the ratings are
going to be quite good."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Cynthia
Osterman)
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