Mets games "have never drawn more viewers than Yankees games at the midway point of the season in the decade since SNY and YES have competed against each other," but through the MLB All-Star break, Mets game viewership is 27% higher than Yankees games, according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. SNY is averaging 278,078 viewers for Mets games in the N.Y. market, up 39% from the same point last season, while YES Net is averaging 219,205 viewers per game. Mets’ viewership also "has not been so high at this point in a season" since '10. YES Net's edge over SNY has "usually been quite substantial." YES Net's audience numbers also have been "impeded by a season-long impasse that has prevented 900,000 Comcast customers, mostly in New Jersey, from watching" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/15). On Long Island, Neil Best notes despite the "ongoing carriage dispute with Comcast," it is "likely SNY still would be ahead even with the addition of those homes" (NEWSDAY, 7/15).
BIRD WATCHING: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes FS Midwest is averaging an 8.1 local rating for Cardinals telecasts this season, down from a 9.3 at the same time last season. Last year at the All-Star break, the Cardinals had the best record in MLB and "were the talk of the town." But this year, the team "can’t gain traction." But with "no August, September or October competition this year from a local NFL team and the Cardinals expected to be in at least the wild-card chase for much of the rest of the season, the rating is expected to increase in the coming months" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/15).
PHILLY CONNECTION: Phillies game ratings on CSN Philadelphia are up 22% over the same time last year. The RSN's "Phillies Pregame Live" and "Phillies Postgame Live" also are up 17% and 18%, respectively (Phillies). In Philadelphia, Rich Hofmann notes the Phillies' numbers are "worth noting, seeing as how it was worth noting last year at this time just how low the ratings had fallen" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/15).
