Yankees See Drop In YES Net Ratings Despite MLB Anticipation

With pent-up demand for Yankees baseball in a delayed season, many observers believed ratings "would be through the roof" for games on YES Network, but that is "not the case" to date, according to Bob Raissman of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. As of July 30, Nielsen data shows Yankees ratings on YES are "down a disappointing 10%, from 3.51 in 2019 to 3.15" in '20. Raissman: "Is this decline something for the Yankees suits or YES brass to be overly concerned with? Probably not." YES execs said that the "sample size is small." YES cited another Nielsen metric, viewership, which YES "contends is up by 20% over last season." Still, it is "surprising the Bombers ratings are not trending over the moon." Meanwhile, Mets ratings on SNY are "not anything to inspire a standing ovation" either, as they are "up a skinny 1% from a 2.72 in 2019 to a 2.75 in 2020" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/8).