In the most recent Nielsen research data, the St. Louis Cardinals games have taken over the highest local ratings in baseball.
“The best fans in baseball.”
When tossed around in reference to the followers of the St. Louis Cardinals, I don’t like it one bit. It has nothing to do with an outbreak of the wave at Busch Stadium while the home team is batting in the eighth inning of a tie game. It is just one of those terms that is better left unsaid.
Having the most rabid fans, on the other hand, can be suggested – and when using television ratings in support of one’s position, that debate can be won.
On Monday, SportsBusiness Journal published an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data through the All-Star break. The Cardinals regional sports network, FOX Sports Midwest, came in number one across all of major league baseball’s local markets with a 9.70 average rating. That represents over 120,000 households in the St. Louis market watching the telecast on the average and both numbers are a whopping 41.6 percent higher than last season.
The next closest club, the Minnesota Twins on FOX Sports North, have a 7.85 average rating in the Twin Cities DMA. The Oakland A’s on CSN California are last at 1.23. The leader for the past six years, the Boston Red Sox’ NESN, slipped to fifth at 6.25, causing much concern in Beantown. (These ratings do not account for viewers in outer markets.)
It was recently disclosed that starting in 2011, FS Midwest will be televising all Cardinals games not on national broadcasts. On the radio side, rumors persist that the team is considering a change from KTRS, despite holding a partial ownership stake in the station.
In the radio rankings, KTRS comes in ninth in MLB in terms of average listeners at 128,400. That is down five percent from last season. KTRS is third in MLB in average rating among the desirable 25-54 age male group at 19.1. Again, that is in decline, down 4.5 percent from 2009.
At the national level, ratings remained basically flat on every network except ESPN.
FOX averaged a 1.9 rating for their MLB game coverage during the first half of the season, same as last year. While that is slightly up, it isn’t great news as last season, FOX’s 1.8 average was a record low. ESPN’s 1.0 national rating for its games is down from last year’s 1.1, while ESPN2 averaged 0.74. Not surprisingly, TBS was the least-watched of the national networks with a 0.41 rating, even with last year.
Click on the above link to be taken to the detailed data.
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Using the term “best” with regard to Cards fans is not ok with you Brian, but the term “rabid” is ok?
I’m not sure I want to be called “rabid”. I may be mean sometimes, but I don’t foam at the mouth. 
Perhaps I spend too much time moderating message board squabbles to provide an unbiased assessment…
Well, I can’t speak for others, but I am a model of decorum.
Small market?
6th in TV viewership. IF we they were on KMOX I’m sure they’d be at tleast 6th in radio listenership. Not sure of the exact numbers but we are around 6th in attendance as well (if not higher).
Assuming revenues go along pretty much with the numbers, any talk of us being small market or having a payroll ranked higher than our market size is pretty much debunked here.
The other fictious small market here is the Twins.
There does appear to be a lot of variability here though. The Cards are up 41% this year in TV veiwership. How did that happen? Does Matt Holiday bring in that many viewers? Mark McGwire?
The Nats are up over 100%. And about 300% over a couple of years ago (when they had less than 10,000 a game)
Well, we know the Nats have Strasberg and mild hope…
The Cardinals missed the playoffs two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008. I would think that hurt ratings but that would better explain why 2009 might have been up, not 2010 unless the climb takes awhile.
Knowing that if I were living in St. Louis and would be attending at least half of the Cardinals home games and watching all the rest on television, I am fascinated by any analysis of the St. Louis metro market. In comparison, the metro market in which I reside (Milwaukee) is significantly smaller. The attendance at Miller Park, however, is destined to reach three million for the third consecutive year: Although a few hundred thousand less than St. Louis (which is ranked 3rd of 16), it is nevertheless ranked 6 of 16. Chiefly because of Bob Uecker’s popularity, many who watch the games, either at the stadium or on television, also simultaneously listen to the radio broadcasts. The local FSN station carries all games which are not nationally televised (Indeed, when my Cardinals are not seen on one of the major national networks, I am able to see them whenever they play either the Brewers or Cubs). The reason for the huge attendance success is the cheap price of tickets and reasonable concession prices (which explains their small market payroll budget). The clever marketing has produced a mounting fan base which is fiercely loyal to “The Brew Crew” and it is interesting that their hatred for the Cubs is akin to the historic rivalry of St. Louis fans against the Cubs! From the perspective of Milwaukee, St. Louis fans are generally regarded as polite and knowledgeable, whereas Cubs fans are regarded as generally ignorant, vulgar and “rabid”. I’m always proud when I hear the epithet most commonly conceded and bandied about concerning Cardinal fans throughout the nation; that they are “the best in baseball”.
By the way… The General Manager, Doug Melvin, has stocked the Brewer club in accordance with the hitter-heavy steroid era and the “Year of the Pitcher” is causing him to appear sillier than ever. The result is an offensive powerhouse with no quality pitching, with the sole exceptions of Gallardo and Axford (I think it is absolutely ludicrous that the Cardinals would even consider Dave Bush). The fan consciousness of their Nashville AAA affiliate is practically nonexistent.
From top to bottom, the Cardinals are truly a first rate organization and club. In my opinion, our only weakness is a field Manager who is incapable of bringing the club together into anything resembling inspired, cohesive and consistent teamwork. Mind you, in my humble opinion, the success of the team is NOT because of Tony (aye, Dave Duncan represents a major “power behind the throne”), but largely because it has been steeped, maintained and stocked by the Mozeliak and Luhnow.
Since the idea of persuing Brett Myers is no longer considered an interdivisional taboo, I hasten to mention it again…
According to Jeff Gordon:
“…Myers seems like the best fit for what the Cards need now. If there is any way to make the deal happen, Mozeliak should do it”
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_e341ce64-9a4f-11df-8752-0017a4a78c22.html
I would rather miss the playoffs than make it with Brett Myers.
Since a record this year of 3.21 and 2 CG is hardly a reason for rejecting Myers, there must be a reason (perhaps some character deficiency) that he ought not become a Cardinal or else there must be some really bad blood between him and easton714. Not only is my curiosity piqued, but my mind is also wide-open…
Seriously? You don’t know?
He beat his wife in front of her friends and onlookers on the street. He punched her several times and then dragged her by the hair along the sidewalk despite her friends’ cries for him to stop.
This is news to you?
Indeed, it most certainly IS news to me! It is also very good reason that he ought not EVER to wear a Cardinal uniform! Thank you, easton714, for apprising me (and others to whom it is news) of the “character deficiency”.
I researched the assertion of easton714 and, even though the charges were dismissed at the behest of his abused wife, I found the story to be absolutely true.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/14352520/
Special Note: It is common for victims of spousal abuse to repeatedly give their tormentors unconditional pardon. It is also common for such enabling “forgiveness” to promote escalation of the violent behavior (and, no, it cannot be excused on the basis of drunkenness). I only hope that the writer, Jeff Gordon, is as informed as easton714…
Yep…she was even the one who bailed him out soon afterwards.
Looks like the Phillies are the only bidders left on Roy Oswalt. It will be interesting to see who they have to give up to get him.
Brett Myers would be a disaster waiting to happen.
Via Fox Sports Midwest: Mike McDougal is up with the Cardinals tonight.
LINEUP–Lopez 3B Jay RF Pujols 1B Holliday LF Molina C Rasmus CF Ryan SS Garcia P Skip 2B
We don’t expect for all of our boppers to be “on” at the same time, but we DO reasonably expect for at least a couple of them to contribute in each game. If Albert and Matt continue in their rut tonight, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if Colby should have a breakout game. Whenever Studwick is not able to play, I am so glad that we have Jon to fill-in! Here’s hoping that Brendan will remain above the Mendoza Line and here’s expecting that Skip will continue his return to the .300 hitting form…
I suspect that our poised rookie sensation, Jaime, will prove to be a worthy opponent of the “Elegant Competitor”, Santana. Since it is up to our offense to provide the runs necessary for a win, I am assuming that they have a game plan developed on the star southpaw from something more substantial than video tapes…
As of this moment (5:03 pm), the Reds are in first place by a half game: They slaughtered the Brewers 10-2 (Votto hit his 26th HR)…
I wouldn’t assume anything with this team 57.
Some numbers in Bernie’s column seem relevant. With Tony being a numbers guy, one would think a change to the middle of the lineup would be in order.
“Matt Holliday is batting .196 (9 for 46) on the road with runners in scoring position . . .
Pujols is batting .259 overall since June 24 . . .
Colby Rasmus has been the team’s best hitter on the road this season . . .he has 9 road homers . . . . ”
We shouldn’t have been surprised the middle of the order sucked last night. Lets hope for better tonight. Go Cards.
Molina is hitting .429 against Santana. That explains his place in the lineup. Still, I am not a fan of the numbers game.
That’s how we lead-off against a premier pitcher! Attaboy, Flip!
Albert is now 1 for his last 20 and he’s not at all concerned: Are you?
That’s how we start the ballgame against an awesome southpaw; a 2-run bash by Matt!
Way to go, Yadier!
That’s how we break-out, Colby! Attaboy!
(What a way for Matt to extend his hitting streak!)
Jaime’s got great plate discipline! Wow! I can’t believe the Mets were suckered into that!
Great hustle, Skip! We’ve gone through the entire line-up with only 1 out (Albert!)
You know, I sure hope that MacDougal has learned how to throw strikes for the first time in three or four years….
Flip! 2 for 2 (with an RBI) – all in the same inning!
Jon! 2 for 2 in the same inning!
Albert does all right for a .295 hitter. He kinda looks like he could stand to lose 20lbs.
Wasn’t I the one saying this lineup rocks and Tony’s a genius.
This is additional proof that the greatest pitchers have melt-down days (just like Adam last night)
HOLY CANNOLI!
Albert is now 1 for his last 21 and he’s not at all concerned: Are you?
If you’re going to give Tony credit for the guys’ performances, then you will have to blame him for Albert’s slump…
Oh, yeah… An 8 game winning streak, followed by two shut-outs in a row: I tell you, Tony is a real genius!
Last night’s debacle was only another example of Tony’s genius…
Wow! Reyes is blurr!
You need to stop living in the past 57.
Surely, you jest! LIving in the past is purely Tony’s department!
The fly-ball out was bothersome and this walk ain’t too comforting. Jaime needs to relax and settle-in..
Loved that 70 mph curveball from Jaime.
Jaime is throwing too many balls and he’s not looking at all comfortable. During this particular inning, he simply hasn’t exhibited is usual poise…
Those fly-balls will kill you: Just ask Johan Santana…
Jaime needs to settle down.
If Jaime will just relax and regain composure, he can still enjoy a quality start…
I wish that they wouldn’t break in for A-Rod’s “historic” moment: I’m really not interested and could care less if he never hits his 600th….
Colby actually worked a full count…
Time now for Jaime to settle-in, just like Johan…
Much better.
2 strikeouts and a groundout: Jaime looked great!
The trouble is, Santana is looking great too…
He’s the best .293 hitter in MLB. Indeed, Albert is now 1 for his last 22 and he’s not at all concerned: Are you?
Jaime can definitely yet enjoy a quality outing!
Colby is having that break-out night we’ve been hoping for! There can be no doubt that he can hit against the best of southpaws!
By inducing that DP, Jaime is showing us that he is definitely back on top of his game!
77 pitches for Jaime. He could go another inning or two.
Jon Jay is red HOT!
Finally! Albert got a hit! Albert got a hit! Albert got a hit!
LOL! 57
Matt’s the man tonight: What a way to extend his hitting streak! A homer, a double and 3 RBI!
Garcia looks spent.
Two straight fly-ball bombs: There went Jaime’s quality outing…
Whew! That could have been a disasterous inning!
No. 57, He only has 3 runs in 6. That is a quality start.
I don’t think we will see him in the 7th though.
At 85 pitches, I suppose that he could be stretched for another inning. But, like you said, blingboy, he really is looking spent…
Whether he is relieved or stays in and gives-up another couple, our offense is sufficient tonight for Jaime to have that “W” in the bag…
Damn it! The only one hitless tonight has fallen back down below the Mendoza Line…
Just scanned the threads. Interesting that no one noted that not too long ago, the Cardinals brought in Julio Lugo, who also had a past domestic violence incident. Not in favor of Myers, just sayin…
I posted an article on the main site about how I inadvertently became part of the story about MacDougal’s number assignment. Check it out. I hope you’ll like it…
Mitchell certainly did his job: Jaime’s “W” is being secured and we are on our way to remaining tied for first…
Ignorance is bliss… If I had known about Lugo, I would have become quite alarmed. As it is, as excited as I was about Myers, easton714 took the wind out of my sails…
I will definitely read “Helping New Cardinal MacDougal Keep Number 48″ after the game!
Mitchell certainly ceased doing his job: Jaime’s “W” is looking less secure, unless our offense has something more to say about it…
Note to self: Take notes and save photos for “When MacDougal didn’t wear #48 ” article.
The game was going just fine, until Brian came on at 8:25 pm: It’s all his fault!
How many times has Reyes done that?
How many starting pitchers have thanked Reyes for robbing them of their “W”? How many pitchers have been victimized by earned runs allowed by him? Why is it that I always complain that I’m never comfortable whenever he comes to the mound?
Notice, that Reyes’ atrocity does not show up on his record (it’s all thrown onto Mitchell’s record)!
Why did Tony leave Reyes in after the walk? Tony gives away games like this all the time, and makes me so mad.
Albert’s road back to .300 just might be paved with singles, but that’s all right…
No! NO! You’re mistaken, crdswmn; Tony is a genius!
Pfffft!
This is a William Bendix “Life of Riley” moment:
“What a revolting development this is”
We should have had this game won.
Kyle certainly scrapped for that one! We’re still alive!
This game was as good as won… until the wonderful genius brought his dearly beloved Reyes into the game…
NEVER EVER bring Reyes into a close game.
I quite agree: There’s too much history to suggest otherwise…
Reference post #75, bb, you are right on. I talked with Rowan about my Stan search in the wild hope he would say he knew where a spring training numerical roster from 1942 can be located. That is my holy grail. I actually had a very good lead that dried up.
Yadier just threw out the fastest man on the planet! NOTHING gets past him!
I expected Reyes to go for it. He would have been safe with any other catcher.
He’ll think twice (like most other runners) before he tries that again on Yadier
As usual, Jon has set the table…
Once again, Jon’s effort is wasted: Albert needs to thank the Mets for rescuing him from having ground into a certain double play!
Once again, Albert and Matt let us down.
What Albert failed to do, Matt just “accomplished”… What a way of cheapening an otherwise great performance tonight (sigh!)
‘Twas one of those opposite field gems, courtesy of Yadier…
Yadi is good at hitting to the opposite field. I wish he would do it more often.
Were it not for Jaime’s 2 RBI, our offense would have already lost the game for us…
Once again, Colby drove the pitch count to full (so, despite grounding into the near DP, we’re seeing signs of more patience and discipline at the plate)…
Despite that fly-ball out, MacDougal is a sharp looking youngster. What happened to his “48″?
Why do we always have these marathons with the Mets?
I was asking myself the same thing…
Methinks I will find out about MacDougal’s “meanwhile 63″, when I read the article after the game…
Albert is wincing. Skip is wincing. There’s a great deal o’ pain goin’ around…
Runners on the corners, 2 outs and Albert is at the plate! Wow!
Another single, but this time it was meaningful! May the road back to .300 continue to be paved with such singles!
I guess that was a dilemma. Send Jay or let Waino try to hit.
Good try: Great hustle, Jon! We’ve got the one run necessary to win: All we have to do now is to keep ‘em down!
If Franky does his job, MacDougal will get a “W” in his very first appearance!
Franky picks up his 19th Save and the man who will surely inherit “48″ (thanks to Brian) gets his first “W”!
I am going to miss part of tomorrow’s game. I hope to be back by the 3rd inning.
Once again, what could have easily been a miserable night, turned-out to be a win: Neither one of our post-losing streak wins has been pretty, but every hard-fought squeaker counts!
Concerning tomorrow’s game: Beware of R.A. Dickey…
Trying to hit a knuckleball has been likened to “trying to pick-up jello with chopsticks”. Through the years, as most of you are already aware, there have been more than a few good batters who wanted to sit-out a ballgame, rather than to face a knuckleballer; not only because the experience is so unpleasant, but also because knuckleballers have been known to screw-up a batter’s stroke for days, if not weeks.
Thanks for the article, Brian! Rowan will now reserve “48″ for the day we know for certain that Mike shall be here to stay. Since the matter would have continued unnoticed indefinitely, your apprisal was no petty or trivial thing. Those of us who will still be amongst the living in the not so distant future will watch Mike (wearing his “48″) and know the story behind the story. Thank you for sharing!