No One Cares About The Giants

Honestly, I found the Giants' run so nauseating (albeit incredible, to be fair) that I couldn't watch the 2012 World Series. Turns out, neither could anyone else:

The San Francisco Giants' sweep of the Detroit Tigers set a record low for the World Series' television ratings.

The four games on Fox averaged a 7.6 rating and 12 share, Nielsen Media Research said Monday. The previous low was an 8.4 for the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies-Tampa Bay Rays and 2010 Giants-Texas Rangers series, which each went five games.

Last year's St. Louis Cardinals-Rangers World Series went seven games and built momentum to average a 10.0/16.

The Giants' 2-0 win in Game 3 on Saturday earned a 6.1/11, and their 4-3, 10-inning victory in the clincher Sunday drew an 8.9/14. Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with TVs tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage watching among all homes with TVs in use at the time.

So the Giants own the two worst-rated World Series in history. Let that settle in.

Let's put those ratings into daily perspective.

• Game 1: Roughly 30% more people watch Modern Family than the Giants. At least Game 1 wins its 8p opening timeslot before people lose interest by 9p.
• Game 2: Even intelligent fanboy nerds abandon the Giants, as 50% more people care about Kaley Cuoco and The Big Bang Theory at 8p. Two and a Half Men at 8.30 also pulls a greater audience than the Giants, even though Pablo Sandoval represents roughly one and a half men.
• Game 3: I can't find show-specific ratings, but USA Today said Saturday's Giants game was down from prior year.
• Game 4: Saints at Broncos dominates the Giants.

I'm guessing MLB is alarmed by the low ratings, which are strongly correlated with the Giants' presence. People don't want to watch cheaters from a small-market town, it's as simple as that.

And it's not the Tigers' fault. The Tigers drew a 10.1 average rating when they lost to the Cardinals in 2006. And in 1984 when they last won, they drew a 22.9.

The Dodgers' 1988 win drew a 23.9 rating, fifth-highest of all-time.