Ratings Roundup: Yankees-Red Sox Series Delivers for YES, ESPN

Last weekend’s intense Yankees-Red Sox series delivered huge ratings on both a national and regional level, as ESPN and YES Network reported significant gains compared to 2010. Friday’s Yankees-Red Sox game was the highest-rated and most-watched program on YES since the 2010 Yankees season-opener (a 10.1 HH rating also against the Red Sox), posting a 6.85 average TV household rating in the New York DMA (515,000 TV households). The momentum continued into the weekend as ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball logged its highest overnight of the season. The 3.5 overnight was 33% higher than a telecast between the teams on the same weekend last season (2.7). The broadcast averaged 4,722,000 viewers and 3,460,000 households to become the most-viewed MLB telecast on ESPN since June 3, 2007 (Red Sox/Yankees – 5,304,000 viewers; 3,985,000 household impressions), according to Nielsen. Additionally, the telecast’s 3.5 rating tied Yankees/Red Sox on Aug. 9, 2009, as the highest-rated MLB game on ESPN since 2007 (4.2 rating for Yankees/Red Sox on June 3 and April 22). Sunday’s telecast averaged a 17.0 metered market rating in Boston and an 8.6 rating in New York…

It’s not just baseball’s most storied rivalry that is seeing big ratings gains, as the Arizona Diamondbacks recorded their highest television rating of the season and best since 2008 on FOX Sports Arizona on Tuesday, Aug. 2. The D-backs vs. Giants game produced a 6.6 rating/11 share in the Phoenix market, 16% higher than the previous top rating, surpassing a 5.7 that occurred the night before against the Giants. It is the highest since a game against the Pirates on Aug. 4, 2008 (6.6).

Coverage of the 2011 FINA World Championships earned a 0.8 final rating and 1.245 million viewers on NBC on July 30, the event’s highest rated, most-viewed window. The next day, additional coverage earned a 0.7 and 1.124 million.