World Series: Nationals-Astros Should Bring Ratings Rebound, But Lack of Yankees Will Sting

New York Yankee fans weren’t the only ones whose dreams were dashed on Saturday night when Jose Altuve smacked a two-run homerun in the bottom of the 9th to send the Houston Astros to the World Series. Fox Sports executives should mourn the missed opportunity of having the Yankees battle for the championship, which has historically led to huge TV audiences. Instead, the Astros will be going for their second title in three years and will do so against the Washington Nationals, who are making their first ever appearance in the Fall Classic (even dating back to their Montreal Expos days). Outside of the Super Bowl, TV ratings in sports championships come down to two key ingredients: The size of the two teams’ home markets and the competitiveness of the series. Also Read: 'Watchmen' Series Premiere Is HBO's Most-Watched Debut on Digital Platforms Since 'Westworld' At least in that first measure, Fox could have worse consolation prizes. Washington, D.C. and Houston are top-10 markets, ranked 6th and 7th respectively in terms of DMA, or “Designated Market Size.” But not all big markets are created equal. Neither of those franchises boast the same type of following as teams from New York (Yankees,...

Read original story World Series: Nationals-Astros Should Bring Ratings Rebound, But Lack of Yankees Will Sting At TheWrap