SportsBusiness Journal reviewed data from all 29 U.S.-based MLB teams. Overall, an impressive 16 of the clubs showed local ratings increases from last season, up from 12 teams with increases last year versus 2013. Twelve teams showed decreases and one was flat.
The Kansas City Royals were on the verge last week of posting MLB’s highest local TV rating for a season in 13 years. The American League Central Division champions’ games on FS Kansas City were averaging a whopping 12.33 rating as of last week, up 90 percent from last year. That mark, with one week to go in the season, was baseball’s highest since 2002, when the Seattle Mariners averaged a 13.2 rating the year after the team made back-to-back trips to the American League Championship Series.
Another notable ratings story this year occurred in New York, where the local ratings for the Big Apple’s two playoff-bound teams are as close as they have ever been. New York Yankees games were down 7 percent on YES Network this season, averaging a 2.78 rating (207,000 homes). At the same time, New York Mets games on SportsNet New York were up 56 percent, averaging a 2.64 rating (196,000 homes). Playing in the country’s largest media market, the Yankees and the Mets rank first and second among MLB clubs in terms of average audience size.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest market, the numbers tell a different story. Angels games on FS West outdrew Dodgers games on SportsNet LA, 79,000 to 52,000 homes on average. The Dodgers’ also averaged the league’s second-lowest local TV rating despite winning the National League West for a third consecutive season. The low rating, however, is due largely to distribution problems that have seen most of the market’s cable and satellite companies refuse to carry SportsNet LA, meaning fewer viewers and lower ratings than a fully distributed channel.
Read the rest of this story, including seeing the percentage increases for each club by visiting Sports Business Journal where the story was originally published
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
