The Yankees’ ceremony on Sunday retiring Derek Jeter’s No. 2 jersey and dedicating his plaque in Monument Park was the "most-watched non-game in the history of the YES Network," according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. The RSN's coverage from 6:00-7:30pm ET averaged a 5.79 local rating in N.Y., with a peak rating of 7.42 from 7:15-7:30pm as Jeter "gave his speech to the Yankee Stadium crowd." The previous high for a non-game broadcast was for the dedication of late Owner George Steinbrenner’s plaque in Monument Park in September '10. Sunday night's game was broadcast exclusively on ESPN (NEWSDAY, 5/16).
HOLDING COURT: SPORTING NEWS' Michael McCarthy noted Yankees telecasts on YES averaged a 3.39 local rating last month, marking the "best April for YES" since Jeter's final season in '14. The audience was up 43% compared to April '16. The net has "noticed an uptick in quarter-hour ratings every time" rookie RF Aaron Judge comes to the plate. Judge leads MLB with 14 home runs, and with him as the "star attraction, year-over-year ratings for 'Yankees Batting Practice Today' are up" 100%. Judge's online highlights have also been "watched more than 2 million times." YES has "garnered more than 7 million views across its digital platforms in April," up 87% over '16 (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 5/14).
