When it comes to television ratings, the brand-new Sounders trump the dearly-departed Sonics.
The first game of the 2009 MLS season, featuring the expansion Seattle Sounders hosting the New York Red Bulls, drew a 3.4 rating in the Seattle market on Thursday, March 19. To put that in perspective, Sonics games averaged a 1.3 rating in Seattle during the 2007-08 NBA season, the last season before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City.
The 3.4 rating also compares favorably to the 4.2 Mariners games averaged on FSN Northwest during the 2008 MLB season.
Nationally, Red Bulls/Sounders drew a 0.3 rating, up a tick from a 0.2 for last year’s opener between the Revolution and Fire.
