Entering World Series, MLB Sees Ratings Up 15% Compared to Last Year.

Byline: Maury Brown

With the Yankees advancing to the World Series last night for the first time since 2003 with their 5-2 win over the Angels in Game 6 of the ALCS, the 2009 MLB postseason continues to see strong ratings, compared to last year.

Last night's game from Yankee Stadium and aired on FOX drew a 9.3 household rating with 15.5, both high water marks for the 2009 season.

Including the AL Central tiebreaker game between the Tigers and Twins, the LDS, and LCS, ratings for the 2009 MLB postseason are up 15 percent compared to last year.

Last night's game had the largest LCS audience for a non-Game 7 since Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS between the Yankees and the Red Sox. That game was infamous "bloody sock" game in which Curt Schilling pitched brilliantly.

Last night's ALCS also marked a 39 percent increase from the most recent LCS Game 6 on FOX (2007, Red Sox-Indians).

As to whether ratings will continue to be higher than last year, it is a near given. Last year was the lowest rated World Series since 2006 (http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2581:2008-world-series-least-viewed-in-history&catid=57:television&Itemid=122) when the Cardinals and Tigers played.

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available for hire or freelance. Brown's full bio is here. (http://businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=15) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1%3Amaury-brown&catid=12%3Acontacts&Itemid=133).

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