- Viewership for the Tour de France continues to rise sharply. Through the first 15 stages, Versus averaged 500,051 viewers for live, morning coverage of the event, up 88% from 265,581 viewers through the same point in ’08.
- The defending champion Phillies attracted a record audience on Tuesday night. The Phillies’ extra inning victory over the Cubs drew a 10.6 rating on Comcast SportsNet, the highest rating ever for a Phillies telecast on the net. Ratings peaked at a whopping 15.9. So far this season, Phillies telecasts are averaging a 6.3 rating on Comcast SportsNet, up 21% from ’08.
- The local television debut of the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) St. Louis Athletica was not a hit in the ratings. The Athletica’s loss to the Washington Freedom drew a mere 0.3 rating in the St. Louis market last Saturday. By comparison, an episode of That 70’s Show preceding the game drew a 1.2 rating, and an episode of Legend of the Seeker afterwards drew a 1.0.
Ted Turner, whose cable business transformed TV sports, dies
Ted Turner, the media mogul and team owner whose TBS "SuperStation" helped pave the way the era of cable...
