John Kruk and his fellow Phillies announcers are back as NBC Sports Philadelphia tops other MLB broadcasts

After a notable break where Kyle Schwarber homered his way to becoming the All-Star game’s MVP, the Phillies are back in action and facing a familiar foe.

South Jersey native Mike Trout and his Los Angeles Angels are in Philly for a three-game series against the Phillies kicking off at 6:45 p.m. Friday on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Tom McCarthy, in his 19th season as the TV voice of the Phillies, will be in the booth alongside fan favorite analyst John Kruk, in his ninth season with NBC Sports Philadelphia. Kruk will also be on hand to call next week’s series against the Boston Red Sox, but Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN.

Over on 94.1 WIP, veteran radio announcer Scott Franzke will call the Angels series alongside his longtime partner, Larry Andersen. Kevin Stocker will join Franzke in the booth for all three games against the Red Sox.

The Phillies have one of the best records in baseball through 96 games, so it’s not surprising lots of people in Philly have been tuning into NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Through the All-Star break, the Phillies averaged about 325,000 viewers per game within the Philly TV market on NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC10, according to figures obtained by The Inquirer. That’s more than any other team, including 20% more local viewers than the New York Mets, the second-most-watched MLB team on local TV.

Rounding out the top five are the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the surprising Detroit Tigers, who enter Friday with the league’s best record.

So far, the most-watched Phillies game of the year was Opening Day against the Washington Nationals, which averaged 560,000 viewers.

As impressive as this year’s numbers are, they’re down slightly from this point last year, though the Phillies have played a handful more West Coast games compared to last year, which depresses viewership. Fans in Philly can also stream games through Peacock and MLB.TV this season, which might have also contributed to the slight decline, as those aren’t include in the measurements.

The Phillies enthusiasm also extends to ticket sales.

In 46 games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies are averaging 41,589 fans, just shy of a sellout a night. That’s slightly up from last year and the fourth-best attendance numbers in the league, behind the Dodgers, Yankees, and San Diego Padres.

You didn’t think you were done streaming Phillies games, did you?

The Phillies have at least three more games this season set to be streamed exclusively by tech companies, including two on Apple TV+

The first will take place when the Phillies travel to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees on July 25. That game will stream exclusively on Apple TV+’s Friday Night Baseball doubleheader.

The second Apple TV+ game is Aug. 29, when the Phillies host the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies also have one game scheduled to stream exclusively on the Roku Channel — their Aug. 17 matchup against the Washington Nationals. Unlike Apple TV+, which runs $9.99 a month, the Roku Channel is free to stream.

Phillies fans could need to stream more games on Apple TV+ next season. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told CNBC this week the tech giant is one of at least three bidders for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball package next season. The two others are NBC and ESPN, which opted out of its rights package earlier this season.

The Phillies will open the second half of the season against the Los Angeles Angels before facing the red-hot Boston Red Sox, who won 10 straight games heading into the All-Star break.