MLB Open to Idea of Starting WS in Late Afternoon

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spmedia315905551oct31,0,6051...,full.c

Can World Series games start earlier in future?

Neil Best
October 31, 2008

We begin today with a sentence I never have been able to write before,
and thus can't help but share: I watched the end of the World Series
with my daughter.

It felt good, didn't it, East Coast America?

For the first time since the Tigers ousted the Padres in 1984 after a
4 o'clock start in Game 5, a baseball champion was crowned before 10.

That invited countless young people to the party - not just in Philly,
where they would have let 7-year-olds stay up until dawn if that's
what it took.

And the ratings were pretty good for the unprecedented three-inning
sprint Wednesday: An estimated 11.9 percent of households watched,
including 14.3 percent in the New York market, 10 times the figure for
the Knicks' opener.

That did not prevent the Series overall from setting a new ratings low
of 8.4, easily worse than the 10.1 of two years ago for Tigers-
Cardinals.

Blame the fifth consecutive year without a Game 6 or 7 or the late,
late show for Game 3 or a less-than-marquee matchup or declining TV
ratings in general. (But give Fox's public relations staff an Emmy for
its series of artful news releases attempting to put a positive spin
on it all.)

Still, what about that respectable 11.9 Wednesday, and those sleepy
Eastern kids?

Might it, could it possibly be time for Fox and MLB to consider
starting games earlier in the evening or (gasp) in the afternoon on
weekends?

This issue has been smoldering for decades, at least since the last
Series day game in '87, and it affects every major sports final other
than the Super Bowl.

But Fox Sports president Ed Goren threw gasoline on it Wednesday by
telling Sirius XM's Chris Russo he would be open to talking to MLB
about earlier games in exchange for reduced rights fees.

"We would certainly have that discussion," he said, "and if it was
laid out properly, that would certainly be a possibility."

So how about it, MLB? Just last week, commissioner Bud Selig said this
to Russo: "I won't be happy until we get a World Series game that
starts late in the afternoon."

Sounds like a match!

Alas, it is not that simple.

Selig also noted ratings for day games tend to be awful, and correctly
added that ratings tend to grow as the hour drags toward midnight in
the East - a truism for all major sports events.

Turns out many people live west of the Mississippi. Who knew?

"Major League Baseball wants the largest number of people to watch the
World Series," a spokesman said, "and we use research and experience
to schedule start times to meet that goal."

Sunday afternoon, perhaps? Forget it. Football crushes all comers.
Giants- Steelers was the most-viewed TV show of last week, sports or
not.

Finally, there is that not-so-small matter of money. Would baseball be
willing to accept less?

In a perfect world, Selig might, but don't hold your breath when it
comes to owners and players.

Here's a hint of how that might go, courtesy of a hockey player, of
all things:

On Wednesday, the Rangers' Scott Gomez was discussing Game 5 with
Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN and said, "Maybe the World Series, it's time
to go back during the day where actually kids can watch it. My
neighbor was bringing that up."

Kay: "Tell your neighbor, 'Does he want the players to make half the
money they make now?"'

Gomez laughed nervously, then said, "I'm not going to mention that to
him."