Detroit Tigers And Fox Sports Detroit Set TV Viewership Ratings Record

Sep 18, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; General view as Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) pitches to Seattle Mariners second baseman Nick Franklin (20) in the seventh inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

According to Bill Shea of Crain’s Detroit Business, the Fox Sports Detroit and the Detroit Tigers beat last year’s ratings record.

"The cable network said today that its 152 Tigers telecasts averaged a 9.59 household rating, topping last year’s record 9.21 average.Numbers for the rest of Major League Baseball‘s markets were not available this afternoon, but it’s believed the Tigers led all teams in local ratings average, as they did in 2012."

Shea points out that each point on the ratings scale equates to 18,459 Detroit-area households. If we crunch the numbers we see that FSD broadcasts averaged just over 177,000 households per game and totaled just fewer than 27 million households for the 152-game broadcast season.

This goes to show why TV revenue is such a big part of the game these days. The Tigers pulled more than three million fans through the turnstyles at Comerica Park this season, but nine times that number tuned into games on their television sets at home (including away games).

I would like to say that 177,000 households read this fine weblog each day, but I will have to admit that Fox Sports Detroit has a bit heavier draw than we do.