Tight spare capacity, which had fallen to a low of a million barrels a day, was a big factor in the price surge in recent years.
The rating in Philadelphia peaked at 9 15 p.m., with a 44.9 (1.32 million TV homes), then moved down, until it fell to a low of a 35.4 (1.04 million homes) by 11 45.
Cavernous, and crammed with product, the place is a kind of Costco for the rich, where the prices range from a low of a few thousand dollars to a high of "we don't give out that information".
Although the hottest day this summer was July 22 - with a high temperature of 104 degrees and a low of a sweltering 84 - more people died in subsequent days.
FPA shares had already plummeted from $40 last fall to a low of a few cents following earlier disclosures of losses that analysts attributed to risky contracts with managed care companies and heavy debt assumed from FPA's two dozen acquisitions in the last two years.
But the local rating for the Rangers' game on NBC grew sharply from a low of a 2.7 from 4 p.m. to 4 30 p.m. to a 4.9 in the final 15 minutes between 5 30 p.m. and 5 45 p.m.
