Fox hopes earlier start will juice All-Star ratings
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You won’t have to put the kiddies to bed before Major League Baseball’s All-Star game this July.
After years of criticism over the later and later times of the mid-season classic, Fox will start this year’s game just before 8 p.m. The network made the announcement at its fall schedule presentation to advertisers in New York on Monday.
The new 7:57 p.m. start time -- why they couldn’t make it 7:56 p.m. is beyond us -- is 30 to 45 minutes earlier than in recent years and should score points with families and advertisers, although there might be some grumbling on the West Coast since the opening pitch will now be before 5 p.m.
Ratings for the game have been on the decline for several years despite efforts to make the game more meaningful by attaching home field advantage for the World Series to the winning league of the game.
Now if they can just start the World Series earlier, too.
-- Joe Flint
