(CHICAGO) – With the All-Star break designated as the half-way point of the Major League Baseball season, Fox Sports Net Chicago announced it has posted television ratings increases from last season for both its Cubs and White Sox telecasts.
Through games played this weekend, Fox Sports Net Chicago is currently averaging a 3.9 rating for its Cubs telecasts (approx. 130,701 households per game), a 22% increase from last year's season-ending 3.2 average and a 5% increase through the All-Star break last year (3.7 avg.).
The White Sox on FSN Chicago are currently averaging a 2.2 rating (approx. 73,729 households per game), which is also a 22% increase from last season's 1.8 season-ending average and a 10% increase through the All-Star break last year (2.0 avg.). One rating point in the Chicago DMA equals approximately 33,513 households.
In addition, Cubs and White Sox pre and post-game show ratings have also posted gains for the network. For the Cubs, the Mike's Hard Lemonade Cubs PRE is up from a 0.7 in 2002 to a current 0.8 average in 2003, a 14% increase, while the Fifth Third Bank Cubs POST is up 50% from last year's 1.2 to a current 1.8 rating. Through the break last year, the Cubs pre-game averaged a 0.7 and the Cubs post-game averaged a 1.3.
For the White Sox, the ATA White Sox PRE is currently at a 0.4, up 33% from last year's 0.3, and White Sox POST has increased 20% from a 1.0 in '02 to a current 1.2 this season. Through the break last year, the White Sox pre and post-game shows also averaged 0.3 and 1.0 respectively.
Fox Sports Net Chicago reaches more than 3.8 million households in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Fox Sports Net Chicago's programming includes Chicago Bulls basketball, Chicago Blackhawks hockey, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs baseball, Chicago Fire soccer, "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," NASCAR and "54321." FSN Chicago is managed by Rainbow Sports Networks.
Rainbow Sports Networks is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Fox Sports Net reaches more than 80 million households nationwide and is a service of National Sports Partners, equally owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. and Fox Entertainment Group. Rainbow Sports Networks incorporates Rainbow's 50% ownership in Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports National Advertising and the ownership and management of Fox Sports Net regional networks in five of the nation's largest markets: Chicago, San Francisco, New England, Ohio and Florida.