YES Network concluded April with a 3.71 local rating in N.Y. for Yankees’ games, a 9% increase from last year and the RSN’s best start to a season since ’12. Nine games on YES have surpassed a 4.0 rating, compared to three during the same period last year. The boosts arrive despite three rain-delayed telecasts during the month, and four weeknight games that started at 6:30pm ET. Fan and advertiser interest around the club has surged since last winter with the arrival of OF Giancarlo Stanton and heightened expectations following last year’s trip to the ALCS (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). Meanwhile, Yankees-Astros on Tuesday night drew a 5.9 local rating in the Houston market on AT&T SportsNet Southwest, marking the best Astros regular-season game in the market since Astros-Dodgers on July 3, 2008 drew a 6.0 rating on FS Houston (CHRON.com, 5/2).
UPS & DOWNS: In Philadelphia, Rob Tornoe noted Phillies games were averaging a 3.61 local rating on NBC Sports Philadelphia through this past Sunday, down around 5% "compared to the same time last season." But on the "positive side," the rating among adults 25-54 was up 15%, and on streaming, unique device use is up 172% (PHILLY.com, 5/2).
NOTES: FS Southeast on Tuesday night drew a 3.28 local rating in Atlanta for Braves-Mets, which featured the debut of Braves P Mike Soroka. That figure is the Braves' second-best figure this season to date on the RSN. It passed OF Ronald Acuña's debut last Wednesday, which drew a 3.24 rating (THE DAILY)....SNY drew a 3.12 local rating in N.Y. for Mets games in April, down from a 3.46 rating last year, but good enough for the RSN's second-best Mets figure on record for April (SNY).
