The Yankees' recent win streak is one reason YES Network's numbers are up big from last yeargetty images
YES Network is having its "best start in six years" for Yankees games, with the RSN averaging a 3.93 local rating in N.Y., up 16% from the same point last year, according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. The team's 17-2 run since April 21 has created "euphoria among YES' viewers and business partners." YES Net's rating on Tuesday night for Red Sox-Yankees (6.76) was its "best for a regular-season game" since '12, not counting Derek Jeter’s home finale in '14. The following night, YES drew a 5.66 local rating, "even though the game also was on ESPN." YES Net's coverage on Wednesday, which saw the Yankees take over first place in the AL East, was the "highest-rated TV show of any kind in the New York market that night." The increase for YES game ratings "seems to be lifting even its late afternoon simulcast of ESPN New York radio’s 'The Michael Kay Show,' which stars YES’ lead Yankees play-by-play man and has enjoyed some of its strongest ratings to date of late" (NEWSDAY, 5/11).
