A World Series matchup featuring two of the East Coast’s largest media markets led to some of the highest viewership baseball has seen in five years.

The New York Yankees boasted the most viewers per game during the regular season, while the Philadelphia Phillies’ seasonal viewership was up 25% over 2008.

Matt Foran, Nielsen Sports
With Major League Baseball’s opening day fast approaching, big league teams are looking to surpass last-season’s finish and to collect more eyeballs for their advertisers and corporate sponsors.  A look back at the stats from locally and nationally televised games from the 2008 season reveals impressive numbers and teams will hope to carry that momentum throughout the 2009 season… and perhaps the playoffs.
Regional Ratings:
Locally, Boston continued to show the power of Red Sox Nation, with a 10.1 HH AA% on NESN (New England Sports Network), the highest average …

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.
Many in the media were hoping for a Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers World Series match-up, but the fans in Tampa and Philadelphia certainly aren’t complaining. 
In Philadelphia, the fourth largest U.S. TV market, 35.7% of all local households tuned in for the first game of the Series Wednesday night.  Viewership in the city of brotherly love has grown steadily throughout the playoffs.
That upwardly mobile TV ratings trend was also evident in the Tampa Bay market, where local …

The 2001 World Series telecasts (New York Yankees vs. Arizona Diamondbacks) claimed the largest U.S. TV audiences in recent memory: 24.5 million viewers per telecast, on average. 
But the late Seventies and early Eighties remain the true glory days of World Series TV viewership.
The 1980 World Series telecasts — the last time the Philadelphia Phillies won a World Series — drew the largest per game TV audiences on record: almost 54.9 million average viewers.

The combined overall household rating for Wednesday night’s final presidential debate, in the top 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 38.3. 
In comparison, last week’s debate between Senators McCain and Obama — the candidates’ second – received a 42.0 household rating in the top 55 local TV markets.  The candidates’ first debate on September 26 received a 34.7 household rating in the top 55 markets.
Wednesday night’s championship baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies — aired by FOX, instead of the debate – may have impacted the …

Tracking viewership for the first four games of the National League Championship between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers alongside the first three of the American League Championship between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays, the NL games are averaging a greater audience. So far, the Game 3 matchup between the Phillies and Dodgers has the peak viewership for the playoffs with an average audience of 8.8 million viewers.

Game
Network
Date
Viewers P2+

LA DODGERS AT PHILADELPHIA
FOX
10/09/2008
7,735,000

LA DODGERS AT PHILADELPHIA
FOX
10/10/2008
5,022,000

PHILADELPHIA AT LA DODGERS
FOX
10/12/2008
8,837,000

PHILADELPHIA AT LA DODGERS
FOX
10/13/2008
7,705,000

BOSTON RED SOX AT …

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.
Angels/Red Sox Match-Up Tops Division Series TV Ratings
The third game of the Los Angeles Angels v. Boston Red Sox drew the largest television audience of the division series: 6.2 million viewers.  The three other games in that contentious series also made the top ten — with average TV audiences of approximately 5.7 million (game four), 5.3 million (game two), and 4.4 million viewers (game one), respectively.
After the jump, view complete national ratings from the division series games, aired …

This week begins Major League Baseball playoffs in the National League (Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs) and American League (Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays).
Historically, at least where league championship series are involved, ratings have been significantly higher when teams from major markets, such as Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, are involved. A breakdown of those matchups will be featured prior to the upcoming NL and AL championship series.
Below are historical ratings since 2000 …