All-Star Game ratings dip again

Ratings for baseball's All-Star game hit a new low for the second straight year.

The American League's 7-5 victory over the National League in Detroit received an 8.1 rating and 14 share on FOX, Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday, down 8 percent from the 8.8 rating for the AL's 9-4 win last year in Houston.

Tuesday night's game was watched by an average of 8,878,000 television households, a decrease from 9,504,000 last year. FOX estimated 29.5 million people tuned in, down from 32.8 rating last year. This year's game, which gave Fox a prime time win, had a high rating of 9.2 from 8:30-9 p.m., then dropped to an 8.4 as the AL went ahead 5-0.

St. Louis, where the game drew a 23.3/34, was the highest-rated market for the third straight year, followed by host Detroit.

-- The Associated Press