Most watched baseball? Ratings say Royals, Cardinals
The Royals and Cardinals face off in a three-game series beginning on Friday, but the Royals already lead in one department.
Television ratings.
The teams own baseball’s first and second best local market television ratings, with the Royals’ 12.4 household average in Kansas City on Fox Sports Kansas City topping the list, according to Nielsen.
That’s an increase of 132 percent over last year, when the Royals ranked fourth in baseball.
The Royals have surpassed “The Big Bang Theory” as the highest-rated prime time program in the Kansas City market.
The Cardinals, on Fox Sports Midwest in St. Louis, rank second at 8.9, which is a 25 percent increase over last year. The Cardinals had baseball’s top local market rating last year, and have finished among baseball’s top three in each of the last 15 years.
The Royals and Cardinals are bidding to make Missouri the first state with the top two local market ratings since tracking began in 1996.
To reach Blair Kerkhoff, call 816-234-4730 or send email to bkerkhoff@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BlairKerkhoff.
This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Most watched baseball? Ratings say Royals, Cardinals."