Few cities post consistently high ratings for big games featuring their local major sports teams than Boston. The Red Sox, Patriots and Bruins have been on ratings rolls for years at this point, with the Celtics fading a bit, but still potent in the playoffs. On Tuesday night, the heft of sports television took a huge bite after a key political debate.
John Connolly has a fairly hefty lead in recent polls over opponent Marty Walsh for the mayoral election in Boston to be contested in November. Regardless, it still was a little surprising to see how badly their debate on WBZ-TV got shellacked by the Red Sox game earlier this week. Okay, maybe not even a little surprising.
Fox's broadcast of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the Sox and the Detroit Tigers drew a 31.1 rating in the market,, easily winning the night in Boston. The debate between Connolly and Walsh drew just a 1.9 rating. Among viewers 25-54, the debate got beat in the ratings by both Access Hollywood and Extra.
Not that any of this is surprising. As I've said before, Bostonians love their sports. The Patriots crushed everything on this list Sunday with a 35.1/62 on Fox for their comeback victory over the Saints. The Red Sox are climbing further up the ratings ladder however, and both of the city's major mayoral candidates felt the brunt of it. Of course, we know the history Boston mayors have with their sports teams, hopefully the next mayor can at least do a little better in the pronunciation department…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6zcOSe843pQ
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