WORLD SERIES RATINGS SLUMP

The settlement of the Cablevision/Fox dispute over retransmission consent fees and the subsequent end of the blackout of Fox programming in the New York area did not appear to boost ratings for Fox’s coverage of the World Series. Game 3 of the series on Saturday, which saw 21-year-old Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner shut out the Rangers 4-0, attracted 9.23 million viewers — a far cry from the 15.20 million who tuned in to last year’s Game 3 between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. It was, in fact, the second-lowest rating ever for a World Series game — and it was recorded despite an earlier starting time, which many analysts had figured might attract <I>more </I>viewers rather than fewer. On Sunday night, NBC’s Sunday Night Football clobbered Major League Baseball’s premiere event. The football telecast, which pitted the New Orleans Saints against the Pittsburgh Steelers — winners of the last two Super Bowls —  drew 15.31 million viewers versus 13.33 million for the fourth game of the Series.