An average of 14.6 million people watched the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, the largest audience since the infamous 2002 game in Milwaukee that ended in a tie. Ratings in the game’s host city of St. Louis were especially high with 37% of all TV households tuning in to the game. It was the largest rating for the game’s host city since 2001 when 38.4% of Seattle households tuned in as the game was played in the Emerald City.

MLB HALF-SEASON RATINGS REVIEW
At MLB’s halfway mark, St. Louis again proved its passion for baseball, ranking behind only Boston as the top-rated professional baseball market. While an average of 9.5 percent of Boston households tuned in to Red Sox games so far this season, the Cardinals drew an impressive 7.4 percent of St. Louis homes.

TOP HALF-SEASON MLB MARKET RATINGS

But when looking at percent growth from this time last year, several surprising teams move to the top:

-The Texas Rangers, with one of baseball’s most exciting lineups, are enjoying a 50% increase in viewership in Dallas, the most year-over-year growth for any MLB team.

-The San Francisco Giants lead the NL wildcard thanks to superior pitching, contributing to 27% higher ratings. When Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum takes the mound, their average rating jumps an additional 9%.

-The Kansas City Royals’ ratings are up 23% despite trailing in the AL Central. The Royals’ ratings increase an additional 8% when Sports Illustrated cover boy Zack Greinke starts.

-The league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers showed no ill effects from the absence of Manny Ramirez, both on the field and on TV, where ratings have increased 20%, creating more ratings distance between the Angels, their in-market rivals.

-The Chicago White Sox are up 12% over 2008, and 27% over 2007, as they continue to close the gap on their cross town rival’s rating dominance.

BIGGEST GAIN IN MLB MARKET FIRST HALF RATINGS, 2008 VS. 2009

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 local rating on a regional sports network of any MLB team.   Additionally, the national pastime continues to be as strong as ever in America’s Heartland with the St. Louis Cardinals (7.9), Minnesota Twins (7.2), Milwaukee Brewers (7.0), and Cincinnati Reds (6.8) following as the next highest rated markets.

Several teams also boasted significant increases in ratings on their regional network. Most notably, the Tampa Bay Rays, whose incredible worst-to-first turnaround contributed to an impressive 94% jump over last season’s ratings on FOX Sports Florida.  Other notable increases were the Chicago White Sox (69%), the Cincinnati Reds (39%), and Colorado Rockies (34%).

National Broadcasts

FOX’s Saturday Baseball averaged 2.9 million viewers, with a high mark coming on July 5th when 4.5 million tuned in for Yankees vs. Red Sox or Cubs vs. Cards.  ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball also owed its high point to the Yankees and Red Sox (July 27^th -4.2 million). For the year, Sunday Night Baseball continued to be a staple of primetime cable programming with an average of 2.5 million viewers.

Post-Season

A thrilling post-season was highlighted by the most-watched cable baseball game ever: the Red Sox-Rays ALCS Game 7, with 13.4 million viewers on TBS.  The Rays’ storybook run, however, came to an end at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies in a rain-soaked World Series which averaged an 8.4 HH rating and 13.6 million viewers.