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Local on the Eights: Ratings For NBA, MLB and NHL Teams

April 21, 2010 6:05 AM 19 comments

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Author:

Paulsen

Average local ratings for teams in the NBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL. NBA and NHL data is from the 2009-10 season, while MLB data is from the 2009 season.

The Red Sox and Yankees split the honors as the top draws among the non-NFL team sports. The Red Sox averaged the highest rating (9.46 on NESN), and the Yankees averaged the most households (346,000 on YES).

The top five teams in average ratings were the aforementioned Red Sox, the Cavaliers (8.59), the Penguins (8.05), the Cardinals (7.97) and the Phillies (7.13).

Due to market size, three of those five teams — the Cavaliers, Penguins and Cardinals — were not among the top five in households. They were replaced by the Yankees, Lakers (200,000 HHs) and Mets (200,000 HHs).

In 20 markets where at least two of the leagues were represented, Major League Baseball teams averaged the highest rating 16 times. NBA and NHL teams were the highest rated in two markets each (NBA: Los Angeles and Cleveland, NHL: Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.).

Isolating the NBA and NHL, hockey teams topped their basketball counterparts in five markets: Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Minneapolis. The NBA topped the NHL in nine markets: New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, the Bay Area, Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver and Miami.

Highest Rated NBA, MLB and NHL Teams in Local Markets
Numbers unavailable for Hornets, Kings, Jazz, Hurricanes, Predators, and Canadian teams

#	By Rating			By # of Households
#	Net	Team	Rating	Net	Team	HHs (000)
1	NESN	Red Sox	9.46	YES	Yankees	346
2	FS Ohio	Cavaliers	8.59	NESN	Red Sox	228
3	FSN Pittsburgh	Penguins	8.05	CSN Philadelphia	Phillies	210
4	FS Midwest	Cardinals	7.97	FS West	Lakers	200
5	CSN Philadelphia	Phillies	7.13	SportsNet New York	Mets	200
6	FS Detroit	Tigers	6.89	CSN Chicago	Cubs	145
7	FS Southwest	Spurs	6.61	FS Detroit	Tigers	133
8	MSG	Sabres	6.45	FS Ohio	Cavaliers	131
9	FS North	Twins	6.25	FS Prime Ticket	Dodgers	122
10	FS Wisconsin	Brewers	6.16	FS North	Twins	108
11	FSN Northwest	Mariners	5.20	FS Midwest	Cardinals	100
12	YES	Yankees	4.66	FSN Northwest	Mariners	95
13	FS Detroit	Red Wings	4.21	FSN Pittsburgh	Penguins	93
14	CSN Chicago	Cubs	4.16	CSN Chicago	Blackhawks	86
15	FSN Rocky Mountain	Rockies	4.12	FS South	Braves	83
16	FS Ohio	Reds	3.81	CSN Chicago	Bulls	82
17	Cox/SD4	Padres	3.80	SportSouth	Braves	81
18	FS West	Lakers	3.54	CSN Bay Area	Giants	81
19	SUN Sports	Rays	3.54	FS Detroit	Red Wings	80
20	FS South	Braves	3.52	CSN Chicago	White Sox	80
21	CSN Northwest	Blazers	3.52	CSN New England	Celtics	75
22	SportSouth	Braves	3.42	MSG	Knicks	71
23	FS Florida	Marlins	3.33	FS West	Angels	69
24	FS Arizona	Diamondbacks	3.32	MSG	Rangers	67
25	CSN Bay Area	Giants	3.27	SUN Sports	Rays	65
26	FSN Pittsburgh	Pirates	3.25	CSN Philadelphia	Flyers	64
27	Sun Sports	Marlins	3.23	FSN Rocky Mountain	Rockies	63
28	FS Arizona	Suns	3.18	FS Southwest	Rangers	63
29	FS Florida	Rays	3.13	FS Arizona	Diamondbacks	62
30	CSN New England	Celtics	3.11	FS Houston	Astros	61
31	FS Kansas City	Royals	3.09	FS Southwest	Mavericks	61
32	FS Houston	Astros	2.90	FS Arizona	Suns	60
33	MASN/MASN2	Orioles	2.90	FS Houston	Rockets	60
34	SportsTime Ohio	Indians	2.84	FS Florida	Rays	57
35	FS Houston	Rockets	2.83	FS Wisconsin	Brewers	56
36	Altitude	Nuggets	2.78	FS Southwest	Spurs	55
37	SportsNet New York	Mets	2.69	NESN	Bruins	53
38	FS Southwest	Rangers	2.54	FS Florida	Marlins	52
39	Sun Sports	Heat	2.48	Sun Sports	Marlins	50
40	CSN Chicago	Blackhawks	2.45	SportSouth	Hawks	46
41	FS Southwest	Mavericks	2.41	SportsTime Ohio	Indians	43
42	CSN Chicago	Bulls	2.35	Altitude	Nuggets	43
43	FS Midwest	Blues	2.33	MSG+	Devils	43
44	CSN Chicago	White Sox	2.28	CSN Northwest	Blazers	42
45	FS Wisconsin	Bucks	2.27	MSG	Sabres	41
46	CSN Philadelphia	Flyers	2.18	Cox/SD4	Padres	41
47	NESN	Bruins	2.18	FS South	Hawks	40
48	FS Prime Ticket	Dodgers	2.15	FSN Pittsburgh	Pirates	38
49	FS Tennessee	Grizzlies	2.13	Sun Sports	Heat	38
50	Sun Sports	Magic	2.10	FS Detroit	Pistons	37
51	FS Detroit	Pistons	1.98	CSN Mid-Atlantic	Capitals	37
52	SportSouth	Hawks	1.93	CSN Philadelphia	76ers	37
53	FS Oklahoma	Thunder	1.91	FS Ohio	Reds	35
54	FS North	Wild	1.67	CSN Bay Area	Warriors	34
55	FS South	Hawks	1.66	MASN/MASN2	Orioles	32
56	FS Midwest	Pacers	1.63	Sun Sports	Magic	31
57	CSN Mid-Atlantic	Capitals	1.60	FS Kansas City	Royals	29
58	FS Florida	Magic	1.57	FS Midwest	Blues	29
59	Altitude	Avalanche	1.56	FS North	Wild	29
60	FS Ohio	Blue Jackets	1.39	CSN Mid-Atlantic	Wizards	28
61	CSN Bay Area	Warriors	1.35	CSN California	Sharks	28
62	CSN Philadelphia	76ers	1.24	FS West	Kings	27
63	FS West	Angels	1.22	MSG+	Islanders	27
64	CSN Mid-Atlantic	Wizards	1.18	FS Prime Ticket	Clippers	25
65	CSN California	Sharks	1.11	Altitude	Avalanche	24
66	MSG	Knicks	0.95	FS Prime Ticket	Ducks	24
67	FS Carolinas	Bobcats	0.93	FS Florida	Magic	23
68	MSG	Rangers	0.89	YES	Nets	22
69	CSN California	Athletics	0.82	FS Wisconsin	Bucks	20
70	FS North	Timberwolves	0.75	CSN California	Athletics	20
71	FS Southwest	Stars	0.74	FS Southwest	Stars	19
72	FS Arizona	Coyotes	0.62	FS Midwest	Pacers	18
73	MASN/MASN2	Nationals	0.60	FS Tennessee	Grizzlies	14
74	Sun Sports	Lightning	0.60	MASN/MASN2	Nationals	14
75	MSG+	Devils	0.58	FS Oklahoma	Thunder	13
76	FS West	Kings	0.48	FS Ohio	Blue Jackets	13
77	FS Prime Ticket	Clippers	0.44	FS North	Timberwolves	13
78	FS Prime Ticket	Ducks	0.42	FS Arizona	Coyotes	12
79	MSG+	Islanders	0.36	FS Carolinas	Bobcats	11
80	SportSouth	Thrashers	0.33	Sun Sports	Lightning	11
81	YES	Nets	0.29	SportSouth	Thrashers	8
82	FS Florida	Panthers	0.25	FS Florida	Panthers	4

Ratings For NBA, MLB and NHL Teams By Market
Top teams in green

Market	League	Net	Team	Rating
#1 New York	MLB	YES	Yankees	4.66
	MLB	SportsNet New York	Mets	2.69
	NBA	MSG	Knicks	0.95
	NHL	MSG	Rangers	0.89
	NHL	MSG+	Devils	0.58
	NHL	MSG+	Islanders	0.36
	NBA	YES	Nets	0.29
#2 Los Angeles	NBA	FS West	Lakers	3.54
	MLB	FS Prime Ticket	Dodgers	2.15
	MLB	FS West	Angels	1.22
	NHL	FS West	Kings	0.48
	NBA	FS Prime Ticket	Clippers	0.44
	NHL	FS Prime Ticket	Ducks	0.42
#3 Chicago	MLB	CSN Chicago	Cubs	4.16
	NHL	CSN Chicago	Blackhawks	2.45
	NBA	CSN Chicago	Bulls	2.35
	MLB	CSN Chicago	White Sox	2.28
#4 Philadelphia	MLB	CSN Philadelphia	Phillies	7.13
	NHL	CSN Philadelphia	Flyers	2.18
	NBA	CSN Philadelphia	76ers	1.24
#5 Dallas	MLB	FS Southwest	Rangers	2.54
	NBA	FS Southwest	Mavericks	2.41
	NHL	FS Southwest	Stars	0.74
#6 SF/Oak/SJ	MLB	CSN Bay Area	Giants	3.27
	NBA	CSN Bay Area	Warriors	1.35
	NHL	CSN California	Sharks	1.11
	MLB	CSN California	Athletics	0.82
#7 Boston	MLB	NESN	Red Sox	9.46
	NBA	CSN New England	Celtics	3.11
	NHL	NESN	Bruins	2.18
#8 Atlanta	MLB	FS South	Braves	3.52
	MLB	SportSouth	Braves	3.42
	NBA	SportSouth	Hawks	1.93
	NBA	FS South	Hawks	1.66
	NHL	SportSouth	Thrashers	0.33
#9 Washington D.C.	NHL	CSN Mid-Atlantic	Capitals	1.60
	NBA	CSN Mid-Atlantic	Wizards	1.18
	MLB	MASN/MASN2	Nationals	0.60
#10 Houston	MLB	FS Houston	Astros	2.90
#10 Houston	NBA	FS Houston	Rockets	2.83
#11 Detroit	MLB	FS Detroit	Tigers	6.89
	NHL	FS Detroit	Red Wings	4.21
	NBA	FS Detroit	Pistons	1.98
#12 Phoenix	MLB	FS Arizona	Diamondbacks	3.32
	NBA	FS Arizona	Suns	3.18
	NHL	FS Arizona	Coyotes	0.62
#13 Seattle	MLB	FSN Northwest	Mariners	5.20
#14 Tampa/ St. Petersburg	MLB	Sun Sports	Rays	3.54
	MLB	FS Florida	Rays	3.13
	NHL	Sun Sports	Lightning	0.60
#15 Minneapolis/ St. Paul	MLB	FS North	Twins	6.25
	NHL	FS North	Wild	1.67
	NBA	FS North	Timberwolves	0.75
#16 Denver	MLB	FSN Rocky Mountain	Rockies	4.12
	NBA	Altitude	Nuggets	2.78
	NHL	Altitude	Avalanche	1.56
#17 Miami	MLB	FS Florida	Marlins	3.33
	MLB	SunSports	Marlins	3.23
	NBA	Sun Sports	Heat	2.48
	NHL	FS Florida	Panthers	0.25
#18 Cleveland	NBA	FS Ohio	Cavaliers	8.59
#18 Cleveland	MLB	SportsTime Ohio	Indians	2.84
#19 Orlando	NBA	Sun Sports	Magic	2.10
#19 Orlando	NBA	FS Florida	Magic	1.57
#20 Sacramento	NBA	CSN California	Kings	–
#21 St. Louis	MLB	FS Midwest	Cardinals	7.97
#21 St. Louis	NHL	FS Midwest	Blues	2.33
#22 Portland	NBA	CSN Northwest	Blazers	3.52
#23 Pittsburgh	NHL	FSN Pittsburgh	Penguins	8.05
#23 Pittsburgh	MLB	FSN Pittsburgh	Pirates	3.25
#24 Charlotte	NBA	FS Carolinas	Bobcats	0.93
#25 Indianapolis	NBA	FS Midwest	Pacers	1.63
#26 Raleigh- Durham	NHL	FS Carolinas	Hurricanes	–
#27 Baltimore	MLB	MASN/MASN2	Orioles	2.90
#28 San Diego	MLB	Cox/SD4	Padres	3.80
#29 Nashville	NHL	FS Tennessee	Predators	–
#31 Salt Lake City	NBA	FS Utah	Jazz	–
#32 Kansas City	MLB	FS Kansas City	Royals	3.09
#33 Cincinnati	MLB	FS Ohio	Reds	3.81
#34 Columbus	NHL	FS Ohio	Blue Jackets	1.39
#35 Milwaukee	MLB	FS Wisconsin	Brewers	6.16
#35 Milwaukee	NHL	FS Wisconsin	Bucks	2.27
#37 San Antonio	NBA	FS Southwest	Spurs	6.61
#45 Oklahoma City	NBA	FS Oklahoma	Thunder	1.91
#50 Memphis	NBA	FS Tennessee	Grizzlies	2.13
#51 New Orleans	NBA	Cox Sports	Hornets	–
#52 Buffalo	NHL	MSG	Sabres	6.45

(Sports Business Journal, 4/19/10a, 4/19/10b, 10/12/09)

* In New York and Los Angeles, the Knicks and Lakers both drew higher ratings than their NHL competition. However, the Nets finished behind all three New York area NHL teams, and the Clippers finished behind the L.A. Kings.

* Sports Business Journal NBA and NHL data through April 9. The NHL season ended on April 11 and the NBA season ended on April 14.

Anonymous

Very interesting article. It was a lot of time that I was interested in having precise datas about baseball domination over NBA and NHL in local markets. And it’s evident here…
Ryan

Do you have ratings for the comcast network or WPHL for Philadelphia?

Paulsen

No, unfortunately.

Jim

Considering the NBA and MLB are pretty much even on weekend national games, I was stunned to see baseball so far ahead on the local front. I guess people only watch their own teams in baseball, whereas NBA fans sample any games

Indymac5

I think that’s because MLB is built around the teams, where the NBA is built around it’s stars, like Lebron and Kobe. How often are their more Kobe or Lebron fans at a road game than for the home team?

Jarvis Pool Champ!!!

I would be really interested to see how the NFL fits into the bottom table.
Jennifer

For teams with multiple markets, is it really fair to say the NBA beat the NHL in NY? You’re counting the Knicks/Nets and Rangers/Devils/Islanders anyway, so if you’re going to rank the actual sport, shouldn’t you should add the teams together? And the NHL would then win NY head to head by ratings of 1.83 to 1.24.

The Flying P

That’d be 3 NHL teams combined against only 2 NBA teams…dumb comparison.

SPEEDMAJOR100

The Rangers and Devils have a 1.47 rating combined.
The Rangers and Islanders have a 1.25 rating combined.
The Knicks and Nets have a 1.24 rating combined.

NHL beats the NBA even if it’s 2 on 2.

Anonymous

No doubt the NFL would win even in most local markets…but, while it’s possible to compare MLB, NBA and NHL because of their schedules with daily matches, NFL has a one-game-per-week schedule and a short season which mean that every game counts very much and generates bigger ratings (yes, NFL is far more “media-friendly” than any other league).
MLB ratings are even more impressive if you consider that it’s the league with the longest season…
Darrell

To bad baseballs local dominance doesnt translate nationally.For the 3rd straight year the NBA(tnt and espn) has out drawn MLB(espn and fox) on national level.

jack

That’s not true. The MLB Playoffs and World Series beats the NBA pretty handily. Since 1998, the World Series has beaten the NBA Finals every year except one.

Paulsen

You’re right about the World Series, but the NBA regular season has outdrawn Major League Baseball’s over the past three years. And the early rounds of the playoffs drew comparable numbers last year (the NBA Conference Finals actually outdrew MLB’s League Championship Series).

Mike

So this is just the local home market? (i.e for the Red Sox its just those watching in the Boston area and not everyone in New England who gets NESN). Is there anyway to get the total audience?

Paulsen

To the best of my understanding, these numbers are for the home markets only.

Jerod

This is fascinating. Baseball just crushes everything else in the vast majority of cities (NFL excluded). Well, not in Washington, but I wouldn’t watch the Nats either. One would think that would translate to better national number for MLB, at least in the postseason. Are numbers available for Extra Innings vs. League Pass, as far as total buys goes?

Paulsen

I haven’t seen those numbers, but I’ll check around.

Indymac5

The the only people who can beat baseball are Lebron, Kobe, Crosby, and Ovetchkin; the two biggest stars in the NBA and NHL. And it’s not a fair race because the Indians, Pirates and Nationals are all terrible.
Darrell

Indymac check the national ratings.Basketball has drawn better regular season ratings than baseball for the last 3 years.And “EVERY” league promotes stars not just the NBA.At titans games and anyone the colts play you see manning jerseys in the stands on the road just like kobe and lebron .That just means they are the most popular player on that “team” and fans like the “team” as just as much as the players.Thats BS to say that the NBA is the only league to promote stars when you see the exact same thing in football like Manning ,brady,farve,vick and etc !!!! And by the way those kobe and lebron fans are laker and cav fans just like the football fans that rock manning jerseys are colts fans.

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