(SUNRISE, FL) — Fox Sports Net Florida today announced that the network's live coverage of the Florida Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, July 2 generated a 5.4 Nielsen household rating in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale DMA. The coverage was the highest rated Marlins game on Fox Sports Net since the team's 1997 World Series Championship season.
The game, which featured Marlins pitching sensation Dontrelle Willis, Major League Baseball's pitcher and rookie of the month for June, ended in a 2 – 1 Marlins loss to the Braves in 13 innings. Fox Sports Net's game coverage was among the highest rated broadcast or cable programs in its time period and was the highest rated program in the 6:30 – 7:45 PM and 9:15 – 10:00 PM time periods. The network's September 23, 1997 coverage of the Marlins vs. Montreal Expos, a 6 – 3 victory that clinched the Marlins first-ever post-season berth, generated a 6.6 Nielsen rating.
"Last night's strong Marlins ratings on Fox Sports Net is further confirmation of the charismatic appeal of Dontrelle Willis and the increasing passion fans have for the 2003 Marlins team," said Jeff Genthner, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Fox Sports Net Florida. "With our Spanish language SAP simulcast this season, it appears record numbers of baseball fans throughout South Florida are enjoying Fox Sports Net's coverage of the Marlins this season."
All Marlins home games televised on Fox Sports Net are simulcast in Spanish, accessible by using the SAP feature available on most television sets. One rating point represents approximately 15,500 television households in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale DMA, which consists of Dade, Broward and Monroe Counties.
Fox Sports Net Florida reaches more than 4 million households in Florida. Fox Sports Net Florida's programming includes Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, the University of Miami, and the University of South Florida, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, NASCAR, 54321 and The NFL Show. Fox Sports Net Florida 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 82 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.