Record audiences tuned in to the 2003 Major League Baseball postseason, making it the most-watched playoffs ever on cable and the most-viewed ever on FOX, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.
In addition, the 2003 postseason set a new attendance record with 1,858,979 fans enjoying postseason games.
The 2003 postseason attendance figure marks a 19.6% increase over 2002 and a 12.5% increase over the previous record of 1,653,434 set in 2001.
Average ratings for the 2003 Major League Baseball postseason were the highest on any network since 1995, and the 2003 postseason drew the most viewers in aggregate since 1987.
"From the first game of the Division Series to the final out in Game Six of the World Series, the 2003 Major League Baseball postseason was an overwhelming success," said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. "All eight teams that made it to the postseason provided compelling story lines that appealed to fans of all ages. The strong performances of our postseason games on both broadcast and cable television clearly illustrate that the Major League Baseball renaissance is continuing and that the postseason as a whole provides a formidable programming asset for our broadcast partners."
Network coverage of the entire postseason grew by a combined 28% year-to-year in household rating, the greatest percentage increase of any regular season or playoff sporting event on network television this year.
Overall, MLB playoff coverage on FOX won 14 nights in primetime for the network, including 13 out of 15 evenings when games aired since the start of the League Championship Series.
The MLB postseason catapulted FOX into the season-to-date lead in Adults 18-49 for the first time in the network's history, and led FOX to three consecutive weekly wins in total viewers, the first time the network has ever achieved that feat.
The 2003 playoffs also gave FOX their most-watched month in primetime since 1996.
The Major League Baseball postseason produced outstanding results for its broadcast partners, leading both ESPN and ESPN2 to the most-watched weeks in their respective network histories, and the four Division Series games that aired on ESPN2 rank as the four most-watched telecasts ever in the network's 10-year history.
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Each round of the 2003 Major League Baseball postseason exhibited strong year-to-year growth:
-- The Division Series on FOX produced a 21% increase in HH rating over 2002
-- Cable coverage of the Division Series enjoyed a 52% jump in its average household audience.
-- The League Championship saw household ratings soar by 65% year to year, marking the largest increase ever for that playoff round
-- The World Series exhibited +8% year-to-year growth in HH rating.
The 2003 World Series was 3% higher rated than the 2000 World Series, and the 12.8 HH rating for the 2003 World Series is 75% higher than the current primetime average for CBS, NBC and ABC this season, indicating that relative to primetime the World Series is stronger than ever.
-- Primetime MLB postseason games on FOX provided more than 64 hours of network programming, averaging an 11.3 HH rating, thus generating more gross ratings points than a full season of any of the highest-rated shows on television.
-- The 2003 Major League Baseball postseason dominated primetime during the month of October. Primetime MLB games out-rated the competitive networks in every key adult and male demographic.
-- The 2003 Major League Baseball postseason has propelled FOX to a 21% increase in the Adult 18-49 rating this season, while sending CBS, NBC and ABC to a combined 9% drop in that demographic.