Mets games on SNY are drawing nearly as well as Yankees games on YES

For the first time since the birth of SNY in 2005, the Mets' TV ratings are within striking distance of the Yankees'.

Television viewership for Mets games this year is up 47% from last year, while on YES, the Yankees' TV ratings are down 21%. The Yankees are still drawing more viewers—267,000 per game compared to 253,339 for the Mets—but the gap has never been this close in the nine-plus years that Mets games have been on SNY.

The Mets' red-hot start probably has a lot to do with it, but what fans seem to want to see most is when Matt Harvey takes the mound. So far in 2015, the most-viewed game by either team was Harvey’s return to Citi Field on April 14.

The Mets and Yankees face off this weekend in the first Subway Series of the season, so the corresponding cable-ratings battle will be (moderately) interesting. The games will be on SNY and YES on Friday and Saturday night—MLB Network will also air the Friday affair—and ESPN will exclusively air the Sunday evening game.

The Mets roll into the series riding an 11-game winning streak, while the Yankees are two games above .500 at 9-7.