The Major League Baseball All Star Game drew a 10.0/17 overnight on FOX, down only 5% from last year. The 10.0 is higher than the overnight for the final round of The Masters, the men’s college basketball National Semifinals (Final Four Saturday), and the NBA Finals.
Compared to the overnight rating for other sports All-Star events, the MLB All Star Game defeated the Pro Bowl and NBA All-Star Game by 96% (10.0 to 5.1), and the NHL All Star Game by 1,329% (10.0 to 0.7).
Compared to its competition for the night, the All Star Game was bested by NBC’s “The Singing Bee“, a reality/karaoke show that drew a 5.0 rating in adults 18-49 and 13.1 million viewers. Not that there is any shame in losing to a reality show; last month’s NBA Finals routinely fell to summertime reality fare, and the college basketball National Championship Game could not help CBS win the night against Dancing with the Stars last April.
Despite finishing behind Bee, the All Star Game helped FOX to win the night.
UPDATE: According to the Sports Business Daily, the game was the most viewed event on television since the American Idol finale in May — which directly contradicts reports by Media Life Magazine that “The Singing Bee” drew more viewers.
SECOND UPDATE: The long national nightmare is over: yes, the MLB All Star Game did fall to The Singing Bee. The half-hour reality show drew 13.1 million viewers, outdrawing the 12.5 that tuned into the All Star Game. The Singing Bee is, amazingly, “the top telecast in viewership and [adults 18-49] on TV in the six weeks since the “House” finale.”
