Aaron Judge boosts Yes Network ratings to decade-high mark

Aaron Judge stopped the world in its tracks with his pursuit of 62 home runs, and everybody made sure they tuned in to such a historic season.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge etched his name into the history books after a historic 2022 campaign. The 6'7 slugger stopped the world in its tracks during his pursuit of the AL record for most home runs in a season, with everybody making sure they got to tune in to such a historic moment. And it reflected well on the Yankees' TV ratings on YES Network.

According to Associated Press, the ratings of Yankees games on YES Network in 2022 were at the highest they've ever been in 11 years. Their average viewership in the New York market was 368,000, a 27% increase over last season's mark of 290,000. In 2011, Yankees games drew 412,000 viewers on average.

YES Network and the Yankees will surely be thankful for the Aaron Judge effect, as it's his unfathomable run to 62 long balls that dominated the narrative around the league, especially during the last two months of the regular season.

With the way Aaron Judge has hit this season, it's not far-fetched for one to envision that he could put up a similar season in his upcoming campaigns. Judge led the league in average exit velocity and barrels per plate appearance, per Statcast, and it bodes well for his ability to sustain his power production.

It's unfair to expect anybody to hit 60-plus long balls yet again. But if there's anyone in the league who has the most must-see at-bats, it's Judge. Any team who boasts his services will, for sure, draw more eyes than they did the prior season.

Now, Aaron Judge wields considerable power, not only on the field, but also off it. An impending free agent, the Yankees surely realize just how valuable he is to their franchise, which could perhaps spur them to break the bank just to keep the 30-year old's services.

While in-person game attendance numbers continued its worrying downturn since the beginning of the pandemic, viewership on MLB.TV's streaming service was up by around 10% from its 2021 mark, an encouraging number that speaks to a larger trend at hand.

More fans are now choosing to watch from the comforts of their homes instead, which, while bothersome for the state of ticket revenue, could be a boon for MLB franchises' future TV deals.