A's TV ratings on Sunday 5/10...
by athletics68 on May 12, 2009 8:24 AM PDT
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According to the Mercury News the A's only managed to draw a 0.3 rating for their game on Sunday or 7,500 households. Seems pretty bad, but then you compare it to the Giants, who averaged a 3.97 for their Sunday game.
Seems to me A's fans or lack there of at the stadium is only one of our concerns. If only 7,500 households in the region were watching the game who weren't at the game, what kind of fan base does the team have left to draw more people to the games with?
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I think the Giants v. Dodgers rivalry helps the rating somewhat
Remember when the A’s had limited coverage on these sports channels? We were lucky to see one game broadcast from Toronto when the A’s played the Blue Jays
I am Ray Fosse's infatuations with Clay Wood and high-definition television.
It was also on Mother's Day.
Might be a bit of an extreme example. Additionally, Comcast in the Bay Area is now offer On Demand viewing of A’s games. You add that with DVRs/Tivos and that mean people no longer feel restricted to watching the game during the scheduled time. None of these would show up on any sort of ratings system, would they?
I also question the timing, placement and source of these particular group of facts. Someone has an agenda behind making the A’s look bad and the Giants look good in San Jose. Probably several someones with competing motives.
Define "succeed." --Poppy
"...which should worry the team as it descends into invisibility."
That remark annoyed me.
I am Ray Fosse's infatuations with Clay Wood and high-definition television.
by franks a lot on May 12, 2009 8:52 AM PDT up reply actions
and it's completely loaded.
the whole thing smells like cat piss.
Define "succeed." --Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on May 12, 2009 9:02 AM PDT up reply actions
The author must be an SJ Giants fan
I am Ray Fosse's infatuations with Clay Wood and high-definition television.
by franks a lot on May 12, 2009 9:17 AM PDT up reply actions
He is.
I have exchanged emails with him and he got particularly nasty when i called out that his articles sometimes read as propaganda for the Giants.
I guess that's his prerogative if he's a columnist
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
That's exactly why we set up the network the way
we did. So you don’t have columnists pretending to be unbiased sources.
by Tyler Bleszinski on May 12, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Of course, I could have been nicer to him also :)
Here is one of the exchanges (starting at the bottom):
jeff, i would respectfully suggest that on this point, you’re being stupid. you can ask anyone who has known me for the 14 years i have been in this area and you will find that i have always carried the opinion that minor league baseball is a great experience wholly unique from the majors. that it’s part of the argument about the a’s future is only incidental to that belief. i find it highly offensive that you think i would take up the giants’ cause simply because it is the giants’ cause. and in this case, there ARE two perspectives — either the san jose giants can be here or the a’s can be here. that is presented very clearly as the crux of my argument.
so go ahead and question my professionalism and work ethic all you want, because i can guarantee this will be the last time i respond to such garbage.
John Ryan
“Morning Buzz” guy
San Jose Mercury News
(408) 920-5266
jryan@mercurynews.com
From: me
Sent: Fri 4/10/2009 10:35 AM
To: Ryan, John
Subject: RE: San Jose Mercury News: Readers respond on S.J. Giants vs. S.J. A’s
Thanks for responding John,
Hack American Journalism: Present an issue, like say Creationsim v. Evolution and then get two or four people from either side of an argument to debate it vociferously when no reputable scientists actually believe Creationism has anything to do with science. Same with Global Warming. Basically, misrepresenting the facts by pretending there are only two perspectives and that those two perspectives share equal support, roughly. Personally, I have been reading your stuff for the past few weeks/month as it relates to the A’s move and I think you have done a commendable job of covering things that others ignore (like the Directv thing).
This whole "Keep San Jose Minor League" article seems curious to me, if only for it’s timing. The smug garbage the Giants ownership is running out about San Jose Giants and "heart of the fanbase" now is disingenuous and cynical. I read your original piece on minor league as coming right out of the talking points memo I imagine existing up on 3rd at Phone Company Park.
And as I alluded to in my email, the "choice" presented is plain wrong. I regularly take my 3 daughters to Major League games, buy cheap tickets and bring in my own food and it doesn’t cost 150 bucks, more like 50 tops.
So, in summary, I appreciate what you do. I will continue to read and next time I think you are quoting Giants internal strategy memos for stopping a move by the A’s I’ll bug you again.
Thanks,
Jeff
From: Ryan, John [mailto:JRyan@mercurynews.com]
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 10:19 AM
To: me
Subject: RE: San Jose Mercury News: Readers respond on S.J. Giants vs. S.J. A’s
i am not sure what “tired hack journalism” you are referring to. i got more than four responses, but they were pretty much split down the middle, and i just took the best quality among the respondents. not sure exactly what the problem is, but thanks for writing.
John Ryan
“Morning Buzz” guy
San Jose Mercury News
(408) 920-5266
From: me
Sent: Fri 4/10/2009 10:16 AM
To: Ryan, John
Subject: San Jose Mercury News: Readers respond on S.J. Giants vs. S.J. A’s
John,
So did you really get 4 responses and two each from alternating viewpoints? That would be an amazing development. Or are you falling into the tired hack journalism of American media these days? For the record, I support the A’s coming to San Jose, but I also take my girls to games in Oakland to get away from the house and give Mom some time. Apparently, I am the only person who realizes this is not exclusive to minor league parks.
If your second e-mail is John Ryan-deemed "garbage"
then what is your typical “John Ryan, you sUX” e-mail? Personally, Ryan’s articles will now “[descend] into invisibility”.
I am Ray Fosse's infatuations with Clay Wood and high-definition television.
by franks a lot on May 12, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions
In fairness
I did mean to piss him off a little. I get sick of lazy journalists who fall back on the false premise that there are only two perspectives on any issue and then pretend that they have equal support.
As a Bay Area resident I have watched baseball in 3 local major league stadiums, 2 minor league parks (RIP Rohnert Park Stadium), 4 college fields… to say that the A’s moving to San Jose means the death of cheap baseball is hogwash. In Santa Clara County there are Stanford and Santa Clara University (both with nice yards) if you want to watch baseball at a lower level/with a minor league feel.
A few things
Mother’s Day
Giants are more popular
A’s aren’t on every carrier
Giants/Dodgers is more appealing than A’s/Jays
Lincecum pitched for the Giants
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
I gotta admit...
I try to watch or listen to Lincecum pitch as often as possible.
REVISED- The magical goblins that live in the Reverend Billy Lard's shower just told him that actually, Crosby's not gonna improve this year and he'll be released by June... Sorry, kids...
by Gaijin_Suketto on May 12, 2009 9:23 AM PDT up reply actions
Also
Giants/Dodgers was in LA. Their fans didn’t have the opportunity to jump on BART and go to the game. 15,000 A’s fans did go to their game — how many of them would have been watching on tv if it was a road game?
There's no crying in baseball!
Still even with all that taken into account
7500 households were tuned in (which means likely 7500 TVs were tuned into the A’s). Figure you have to include all the bars and restaurants in the area that would have been tuned in with that 7500 and not many private homes are left that were watching the game.
And yes the Giants were playing the Dodgers but even that doesn’t account for the disparity between 3.97 and .3. The Giants drew over 13x the rating.
by athletics68 on May 12, 2009 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions
See Soaker's excellent comment below
http://www.athleticsnation.com/2009/5/12/872989/as-tv-ratings-on-sunday-5-10#15600874
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
I'm not too excited about watching this team all the much either...
I live in Texas and I pay for MLB EI on DirecTv and to tell you the truth I often opt to recording the game and then watching it later. Briefly watching some parts and then maybe watching Family Guy. Usually, I do that while there are commercials but lately I just can’t watch the A’s. They bore me. I’m a Lakers fan so the playoff games get in the way of me watching the A’s too. So, that could be a reason. It could also explain me not being too focused on the A’s like I usually am. The Lakers are taking a big chunk of my time. But still when I find time to actually catch the games on tv, I sometimes just rather go running or work out.
Does this make me a terrible fan? Or do some of you feel the same way?
It’s probably to early to say where this team is going, but as of right now they’re not going anywhere. Let’s hope that changes this month. :D
Travis Buck's hair: "Wash me!"
by LiZaRdReVoLuTiOn on May 12, 2009 9:22 AM PDT reply actions
same
dude, i have season tix and don’t go. There’s nothing exciting about this team that makes me wanna hop in my car and drive over the bridge to watch this team. And add to that we play boring teams, and it makes it that much worse.
by sf drift king on May 12, 2009 1:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes, but...
The Giants have more opportunities for their fans to see the game. I understand that there are a lot more A’s game on this year, but Giants fans are able to see their team play on a daily basis pretty much. Plus, everyone knows about the hassle surrounding whether or not people actually get CSN-CA in their TV programming.
I would also venture a guess as to say that if the A’s won more games, they would see their ratings go up with them in the standings. I think that’s pretty obvious.
Wade Hines
And I definitely second
the thought that it was Mother’s Day. I wasn’t able to watch the game because I was spending time with my family. Not too many people are around to just sit around and watch the game on a day like that. If the A’s families had their way, the game would have been cancelled so they could spend time with their family.
Wade Hines
Don't think one day's results mean too much
…just as saying “The Giants won 8-4 today while the A’s lost 3-0” does not say much about the respective abilities of the teams.
For all of 2008, the results for the two teams’ telecasts on CSN Bay Area were:
Giants: Average 56,000 households (virtual tie for 18th among the 29 US MLB teams with the Marlins and Braves) with an average local rating of 2.32.
A’s: Average 42,000 households (24th of 29), average local rating of 1.73.
Interesting note: “Rating” is essentially the percentage of households which could potentially be watching the game which actually are watching. In 2008 the Angels’ telecasts ranked 9th in MLB at an average of 77,000 households, but because their potential audience is so huge, that only translated to an average rating of 1.40 (28th, topping only the Nationals).
The source of this info was a table attached to this SBJ article, but the table no longer seems to be available online.
by Soaker on May 12, 2009 9:53 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs
I feel your pain
It’s awful
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
by Helloooo 1st on May 12, 2009 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Didn't see this mentioned
but another thing to consider is that the A’s were in town, so alot of the folks who might have been watching a road game on TV were at the stadium
by GusanoQuemador on May 12, 2009 11:57 AM PDT reply actions
I wonder why they're trying to move out of Oakland
McGwire belongs in the Hall so put him there
by streetisclosedin08 on May 12, 2009 2:05 PM PDT reply actions
I think that's exactly what they're doing
The A’s interest in Oakland at this point is just lip service until they can move away. After 15 years and two ownership groups fighting the city they’re done with Oakland.
Speaking of ratings
The Arbitron ratings for Bay Area radio are here (you have to select the market). This is Arbitron’s new methodology which uses “people meters” that automatically note what you were listening to, instead of asking you to write it all down in a little notebook, and yes, they were doing that until five months ago! The most recent data is from March, so it’s just a baseline for KTRB to see if carrying the A’s and the other sports content they’ve added will make a difference for them. Let’s hope so, they don’t have much of anywhere to go but up — they got a 0.1 share of the market, tied for 59th place with the mighty KALX.
The REAL reason the ratings were so crappy on Sunday
was because
1) Mother’s Day. Many people have mothers they are able to spend time with and may not have time since the game was in the afternoon.
2) The A’s lack of worthwhile ( Read: way below our already somewhat low expectations) performance lately.
3) Third and maybe most importantly, DISH network no longer carries A’s games on CSN-CA starting with not airing Sunday’s game which makes me furious since I happen to be one of those unfortunate thousands of Dish network customers in the extended Bay Area unable to watch our beloved A’s.
AND IT REALLY PISSES ME OFF! I’m switching. Suggestions?
" I may not know how to tango, but I sure as hell can man dance!" -Nate Robles
Oh
and Management meaning Lew Wolff couldn’t be less interested in drawing viewers or attendance while we’re still in Oakland.
" I may not know how to tango, but I sure as hell can man dance!" -Nate Robles
by DaSwinginA's on May 12, 2009 5:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Probably not but it seemed to help my case
" I may not know how to tango, but I sure as hell can man dance!" -Nate Robles
by DaSwinginA's on May 12, 2009 5:33 PM PDT up reply actions
It's Because
Not everyone has CSN CA. Espeically me. I would be watching a lot more games on tv only if I could. Stupid comcast puts the Giants on 24/7 even when there isnt a game. And when there isnt a game they show encores of games no one wants to watch, when they should be showing live A’s games.
OAKLAND FAN BASE >>>>> THAN GIANTS!
The Time Is Now! Win Warriors Win!
Sounds like you have Comcast but don't have CSNCA
…which means you need a digital box. All Comcast subscribers will need a box by 6/12 in order to get cable signal.
by uci anteater on May 13, 2009 9:35 AM PDT up reply actions
I have to splice my cable into my room
Which means the signal has to travel a few feet to even get there. I think the distance is too much for the poor digital box (which I already have and tried, but it didn’t work). I’m thinking about getting a signal booster in hopes that it will help.
Thanks for the heads up though.
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." -- Connie Mack
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