Major League Baseball hopes that tween heartthrob Justin Bieber can cure its World Series ratings doldrums.
Bieber will premiere an acoustic version of the title track from his upcoming movie "Never Say Never" during game three of the series on Saturday night, the MLB and Fox announced.
"Never Say Never" features concert footage of the 16-year old pop star and hits theaters on February 11th, 2011
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Ratings for the series have been positively anemic. Part of the issue is that not only does the series feature two small market teams; it also has suffered declining viewership on account of the 3 million Cablevision customers who have had their signals pulled as part for Fox channels as part of an ongoing retransmission feud.
Wednesday night's game one earned an 8.9 rating and 15 share, down 25 percent from the 11.9 rating for last year's opener. Even worse, it's also down 3 percent from the 9.2 earned for Phillies-Rays Game 1 in the 2008 World Series. That series went on to average record-low ratings for a Fall Classic.
Careful not to alienate fans of either team contending for baseball's top crown, Bieber wore gear from both the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers during the music video shoot.
The video was shot at Angels Stadium in Anaheim and will air during the pre-game show on FOX at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
As a bone to fans who have reached puberty, the MLB said "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson will sing the National Anthem prior to the game.
