Dynasty had one of its clients, Paul Rutgers, perform in the World Baseball Classic. While his team of South Africa did not last long in the tournament, Rutgers at least showed off his dancing skills (I hope the producers of Dancing with the Stars were watching!). Beyond Rutgers and his dancing, the World Baseball Classic was a huge success. Here are some numbers from the WBC that Joe Favorito sent over to me:
- The Final between Japan and Korea on March 23 drew 54,846 fans, the largest crowd in World Baseball Classic history.
- A total of 141,854 fans attended the three games in Los Angeles over Championship weekend…43,630 fans attended the Japan vs. United States Semi-Final on March 22, the second largest-crowd in World Baseball Classic history.
- ESPN’s telecasts of this year’s semifinals (Korea vs. Venezuela Saturday, March 21, and USA vs. Japan Sunday, March 22) and final (Korea vs. Japan, Monday, March 23) averaged 1,820,000 viewers (up 24 percent) and a 1.4 rating (up eight percent).
- In Japan, the Final earned a 36.4 rating despite starting at 10:30 AM on Tuesday morning.
- Sunday night’s telecast of Japan vs. USA on ESPN was the most-watched World Baseball Classic telecast in U.S. history by posting a 2.2 rating.
- The 2.2 rating of Japan vs. USA more than doubled the 1.0 rating both semifinals produced in 2006.
- Japan vs. USA was the most watched sports event on North American cable television last week.
- More than 15,000 fans watched the Final from Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.
