Fox Gets TV Ratings Surge For World Series Opener

Red Sox Nation was indeed watching last night as Boston crushed Colorado 13-1 in the World Series opener at Fenway Park in Boston.

Fox drew an 11.8 Nielsen rating in large markets for the first game between the Rockies and Red Sox, up 37.2 percent from last year's first game between St. Louis and Detroit which aired on a Saturday night. Last year's World Series, a five-game win by the Cardinals, was the lowest-rated Fall Classic ever.

Photo of Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies during national anthem before Game 1 of World Series at Fenway Park by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

However, last night's rating was 22.4 percent lower than the 15.2 big-city rating drawn for the first game of the 2004 World Series between Boston and St. Louis, the previous time the Red Sox were in the World Series. The Red Sox went on to sweep that series for their first title in 86 years.

Fox would much rather see the series reach the maximum seven games to harvest the most possible ad sales dollars. The average 30-second spot is selling for about $400,000, a figure which could rise to $425,000 per ad during Games Six and Seven.