Byline: JUDD ZULGAD; STAFF WRITER
The folks producing the All-Star Game for Fox on Tuesday night will have an interesting balancing act to perform.
On one hand, there will be the focus on Yankee Stadium and the possibility that this could be the last big event in the historic ballpark's final season. On the other, Fox officials know some viewers will be tuning in simply to watch the game.
Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, said the network's coverage of the 'Red Carpet Parade' in the pregame show -- an event that will include numerous Hall of Famers, including former Twins Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Dave Winfield -- will help address part of the equation.
'During the parade, viewers will get a feel of the history of Yankee Stadium within the very first seconds of the broadcast,' Goren said. 'The history will carry through the pregame ceremonies and then you get into a balancing act. This is a tough broadcast because at times you're chasing to come out of commercial and there's a new pitcher, there's a pinch hitter and there are two or three position changes in the field. It has to be balanced.'
The parade, which will feature the All-Stars and Hall of Famers riding up Sixth Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, will air on tape an hour before the game begins at 6 p.m. But no matter how things turn out, Fox will record a financial victory.
According to The Sports Business Daily, Tuesday's game is bringing in record-high advertising rates with a 30-second spot running at an average of $425,000 to $450,000. Although that is a double-digit increase from 2007, Fox is expected to sell out all of its spots.
Before transitioning to the All-Star telecast, Fox (Ch. 9) will have its Game of the Week coverage on Saturday. The Twins-Tigers matchup will be one of the three regional games with Dick Stockton and Eric Karros calling a game that will go to 21 percent of the country.
Looks familiar
The Twins enter the weekend with a record and television ratings that are similar to a year ago at this time. The team -- which was 51-41 after Thursday's victory at Detroit and 49-43 through 92 games last July -- has had a 3 percent ratings growth on FSN North (7.0 compared with 6.8). Its ratings on WFTC (Ch. 29), which carried the season opener and mainly a package of Sunday games, have remained flat at 8.5.
Curiously, the highest single-game ratings for FSN North and WFTC this season have been for games played at the Metrodome, when some potential viewers are at the stadium.
FSN's best rating was an 11.5 for the Twins' 5-4 loss to Detroit on June 30. That puts it among the top-five highest-rated programs on the network since it began tracking figures in 1997. WFTC's best rating was the 14.7 it had for the Twins' 3-2 victory over Los Angeles on March 31 in the home opener. WFTC's best Sunday rating was a 10.3 for the Twins' 5-3 victory over Arizona on June 22.
FSN also has seen increases for its Twins pre- and postgame shows, with the pregame up 16 percent (1.2 vs. 1.0) and the postgame up 26 percent (2.5 vs. 2.0).
Fine-tuning
- Rod Simons, who has been replaced as KSTP's sports anchor, will serve as a news reporter until his contract expires in October. Phil Aldridge, who had been working at the ABC affiliate in Denver, will make his debut Sunday as KSTP's sports anchor.
- While the Big Ten Network will be available on Comcast cable systems beginning Aug. 15, the network still doesn't have a deal with Charter or Mediacom. Talks between the BTN and those two cable systems are ongoing.
- Vikings coach Brad Childress will be a guest on Mark Rosen's 'Sports Sunday' show at 10:35 Sunday night on WCCO (Ch. 4). ... Carew will be a guest on ESPN's 'Baseball Tonight' at 6 p.m. Sunday.
- ESPN's new morning 'SportsCenters,' which will debut Aug. 11, will be aired for six hours instead of nine as originally announced. The live programming will go from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 'SportsCenter' from the previous night will re-air from 5 to 8 a.m.
- ESPNU will carry the Northwoods League All-Star Game at 7 p.m. Monday. The game will be played in Madison, Wis.
Judd Zulgad - jzulgad@startribune.com
