CNN, Why Are You Telling Viewers to Go Watch the World Series on Fox?

(MoneyWatch)  I know CNN is hard up in the ratings department -- and therefore, we can assume, in the advertising department -- but why on earth is it advertising Fox's coverage of the World Series -- particularly during the exact same time that Game 1 of the Series is on?

Yes, you read right. I was channel-surfing about 45 minutes ago; "Larry King Live" was on when it was time to cut to the commercial, and that's when I saw it. It was no simple 30-second ad buy, wedged in between a few other spots. This was one of those sponsorships where they cut away from Larry and give the viewer a few moments to ponder the logo of the advertiser before segueing to the commercial, which was an homage to the dream various Phillies and Yankees had as kids to become Major League Baseball players. (You can see an earlier version of the commercial here, which aired during the playoffs.)

Officially, the advertiser was Major League Baseball, and that was the logo that was prominently featured before the show officially cut to the commercial, but that's splitting hairs. The ad not only included the Fox logo but exhorted viewers to watch the World Series on Fox. So, what are viewers supposed to do? Obviously the answer is to drop that gasbag Larry King and switch over to Fox, pronto! Gee CNN, thanks for reminding me!

That Fox News is eating CNN's lunch in the ratings actually has little to do it with it, though it's a nice, additional factoid. No matter how you wish to interpret it, though, this is downright crazy. Now excuse me while I go check the score.

Previous coverage of CNN on BNET Media:

• CNN Still First in Cable News, Depending on What You Mean By "Cable News"
• CNN the Latest Media Brand to Sell a Paid App