I have a few Yankees articles open in various browser tabs. Time for a link dump of Yankee news and features.
We start with the YES Network and their ratings. As the Yankees were rolling over the competition en route to a finish in first place in May, the team’s RSN found itself enjoying record-setting ratings. YES averaged a 4.50 household rating in the New York area for the month. This mark is a record for a New York-based RSN broadcasting baseball, and in lay terms, it means simply that a lot of people are watching the Yanks on TV. Welcome to the bandwagon, friends.
Despite this popularity, in a new study, Forbes ranked Yankee fans in the middle of the pack in terms of value. By dividing broadcast revenue, gate receipts, sponsorship money and other revenue sources over fan base population, Forbes has ranked baseball teams by the amount per fan they draw in. The Yankees draw in just $45 per fan.
Forbes’ writer Christina Settimi called that a “middling” total, but their equation seems flawed to me. Calling the entire population of a metropolitan area the potential fanbase ignores the reality that the vast majority of city dwellers just aren’t interested or can’t go to games. How much the Yankees draw in per fan at the game and through their TV and radio broadcasts would be a far better measure of fan value.
In non-business news, the entire country of Taiwan has been living the ups and downs of Chien-Ming Wang’s rocky season. Marc Carig interviewed various people from the Wang-crazed nation, and it’s clear that the islanders did not like how the Yankees treated their struggling hero. It’s hard to grasp just how big a deal Chien-Ming Wang is in Taiwan.
Finally, check out the new photoblog Demolition of Yankee Stadium. Yankee fan Joe Mazziliano is running the oft-updated site with pictures from the destruction of the House that Ruth Built. He promises fresh content until the replacement parks are open, and with photos from inside and outside of the stadium, his site provides a visual log of the final days of Yankee Stadium.
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