One piece of evidence that the city of St. Louis is a great baseball town is the fact that for the sixth straight season, the market had the highest number of viewers for MLB’s All-Star Game. Kansas City was a close second, while national numbers for the game were reported at an all-time low.  However, that number is a bit deceiving.

St. Louis had a 20.5 rating and 33 share, which is up 15% from last season. Kansas City saw a 188% jump in viewership, finishing in second with an 18.7 rating and 31 share.

Overall, the Fox broadcast drew a 6.8 rating and 12 share and was watched by approximately 10.9 million viewers according to the network. The good news for Fox, was that the total audience that watched some portion of the game was 27.7 million people, which is up 7% from 2011. No doubt what hurt the overall numbers was a five-run first inning and an 8-0 lead for the National League after four innings.

TV Ratings for Pro Sports All-Star Games for 2012:        

NFL Pro Bowl                                   7.9                              
MLB All-Star Game                        6.8                              
NBA All-Star Game                        5.4
NHL All-Star Game                           .8

Social media was taken to new heights this year with players using Twitter during the game.  According to MLB.com, the All-Star Game generated 807,603 total public Twitter and Facebook comments, a 257% increase over last year’s All-Star Game.   By the end of the first inning, there were  more social media comments than the entire 2011 All-Star Game generated.