After every Pittsburgh Pirates victory, broadcaster Greg Brown says, “Raise the Jolly Roger!”
This year, not only was the record of the Pirates raised but so to were their ratings on Root Sports.
According to information from Nielsen in THIS Forbes.com article on the 29 Major League Baseball teams in the United States, the Pirates ratings on Root Sports were up 8 percent with a 9.15 ratings average compared to an 8.49 ratings average in 2014. The 9.15 rating was good for third in all of baseball behind only the Kansas City Royals with a 12.82 ratings average and the St. Louis Cardinals with a 10.86 ratings average.
Rounding out the top five were Detroit with a 6.42 rating and Seattle with a 5.48 rating.
The increase in the ratings for the Royals went up 82 percent last year while ratings for the Cardinals was up 32 percent from 2014.
Pittsburgh’s dramatic increase was fueled by a season in which they finished with the second best overall record in baseball of 98-64 behind only the Cardinals record of 100-62.
This increase supports the trend shown across Major League Baseball with ratings for regional sports networks rising throughout the league in 2015.
Photo Credit: Sporting News
