The Fox spin cycle

We've made it clear how we stand on measuring audience viewership based on whatever the Nielsen people dish out as their accurate data, which doesn't include anyone living or breathing at a sports bars, hotels or dorm rooms. Or strip club (can't overlook that).

But the fact that Fox has apparently owned up to having just televised what's being called the least-watched World Series in history, they've concluded that it's not how this one cumquat compares to year's past canalopes (we're not into the apples/oranges metaphor), but really how it compares to the current batch of stinking cumquats dropping off trees around the other networks.

"Once again the World Series has proven to be a prime time success as Fox out-rated every other network all five nights in the advertiser coveted 18-49 demographic," said Fox Sports President Ed Goren in a statement issued by the network. "We are in the business of winning nights and the World Series consistently helps Fox achieve this goal. There is also no questioning the tremendous yearly promotional power that one of the world’s greatest sporting events and its 15.8 million viewers per night provides the network."

For the record, the fifth and final game of the World Series on Friday night coughed up a 10.3/18 furball, which translated into 16.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers.

Nielsen also estimates that 40 million saw at some of the game. How they come up with that, you take a guess.

On Friday, Fox did a 4.1 rating with adults 18-49; CBS was second at 3.0 with that specific demographic.

The entire World Series average (as Fox eventually put in its release, way down somewhere) at 10.1 rating and 17 household share. Last year's four-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox produced an 11.1 rating and 19 share, and Fox points out the home markets of St. Louis and Detroit produced more than 800,000 fewer homes than last year's markets of Chicago and Houston.

Compared to everything else out there, the World Series was the 12th-rated show in prime time for the week in all homes. And Fox also says that while comparing ratings for this World Series to those of past, it's important to note that the Fall Classic, from 2001 through 2006 Game 5, has averaged an audience that is 74% higher than those of the other major broadcast networks. During the '90s, the difference was +69%; the '80s, +58%; the '70s, +52%. While audience fragmentation has had an impact on prime television in general, the World Series has held up extremely better than everything else.

According, again, to Nielsen.