Game 5 marathon rated highly with viewers

Monday's Game 5 of the Red Sox-Yankees series showed an interesting ratings pattern.

The window from 5:15-8 p.m., the time allotted for the telecast, did a 42.2 rating and 66 audience share in Boston. Those are terrific numbers for any market. The better news for Fox was that the game was only half-over at that point.

As the contest continued into prime time, Red Sox Nation was settling in for a third straight Sox marathon. The percentage of households using televisions hit 80 percent; normally, it would be about 70 percent. From 8:15-11 p.m., in the window set aside for Game 5 of the Astros-Cardinals series, the continuation of Sox-Yankees did a 53.9 rating (71 share). That figure is higher than even the 52.2 Super Bowl rating compiled by the Patriots and Panthers back on Feb. 1.

Fox's final rating for the entire telecast (5-11 p.m.) was a 47.0 (68 share), better than every Patriots telecast in 2003-04 except for the Super Bowl.

The telecast peaked at a 57.7 rating from 9-9:15 p.m. and the audience share peaked at a 76 from 10:45-11 p.m. as the Sox closed out the victory in the 14th inning.

The rating meant that 57.7 percent of the market's TVs were tuned to the game and the share meant that three of every four sets in use were tuned to the game. Channel 25 researchers estimate that the Boston audience peaked at 2,353,000 viewers.

"We're proud to be part of a record-setting two days for New England sports," said Channel 25 general manager Gregg Kelley, whose station also carried Patriots-Seahawks Sunday afternoon. "We're thrilled that the Patriots had their 20th straight win and highest rating of the season on Fox 25 and that people stayed up both Sunday and Monday nights with Fox 25 to see the Red Sox win two of the longest postseason games in history."

The only higher-rated Sox telecast in the past two seasons was last year's Game 7 of the LCS against the Yankees, which did a 52.9 rating and 73 share.

In New York, Game 5 did a 26 rating and 39 share.