(Bloomberg) -- The only thing climbing faster than the New York Mets in the standings are the advertising rates on the team’s SNY regional sports network.
Ratings over the past 10 games, eight of which were Mets wins, have skyrocketed about 40%. The increase in eyeballs has prompted the team’s network to double what it charges for its remaining inventory of 30-second commercials, SNY President Steve Raab said on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast that airs Thursday.
A 30-second spot for an upcoming game would cost about $8,000, up from about $4,000 earlier this season, he said.
“The opportunity is ad sales,” Raab said, noting that SNY’s strategy is to sell about two-thirds of its ad inventory prior to the season. “Some of that’s a hedge and some of that is just how we manage the business.”
The team’s push toward the playoffs has more significant revenue implications for next season, Raab said, because the selling season runs from December to March.
“In our business, you’re always a year in arrears,” he said. “The bigger opportunity is always the next year.”
Raab said SNY would push for a double-digit percentage increase in ad revenue next season. “With teams that compete in a sustainable fashion, that opportunity to put together multiple years of being competitive can really make a difference,” he said.
The Mets mulled parting with some of their best players, including pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler, prior to the July 31 trade deadline. They wound up keeping both, have won 15 of their past 18 games and stand two games out of a wild-card spot.
Ad sales aren’t the only -- or biggest -- revenue stream for regional sports networks, known as RSNs. They also reap revenue from subscriber fees and syndication.
Charter Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. are investors in SNY.
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