U.S. Viewership Plunges 14% in World Series Opener, Records Set Abroad

UPDATE: U.S. viewership for the first two games of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays has dropped a staggering 14% compared to last year’s matchup, but Canadian and Japanese audiences have set remarkable records.

New data from Major League Baseball (MLB) reveals that this year’s first two games averaged only 12.5 million viewers on networks including Fox and Univision, down from 14.55 million last year when the Dodgers faced the New York Yankees. This significant decline is raising eyebrows as the series unfolds.

Despite the decrease in U.S. viewership, the combined audience from the U.S., Canada, and Japan reached an impressive 32.6 million viewers for the opener, marking the highest viewership since the historic Chicago Cubs victory in Game 7 of the 2016 Series. The first game saw Toronto dominate with an 11-4 win, attracting 13,305,000 viewers, while the Dodgers’ second game victory of 5-1 drew 11.63 million (excluding Univision coverage).

The numbers starkly contrast with last year’s performance, where 15.2 million tuned in for the Dodgers’ thrilling opener, featuring a grand slam by Freddie Freeman. Last year’s Game 2 also had 13.44 million viewers, illustrating a marked shift in fan engagement this year.

In Canada, interest surged, with Game 1 attracting 7 million viewers and Game 2 pulling in 6.6 million—both records for the Blue Jays on Sportsnet. The opener also featured French-language coverage on TVA Sports, garnering 502,000 viewers, making it the most-watched game in the network’s history.

Japan also saw unprecedented engagement, with Game 1 averaging 11.8 million viewers on NHK-G, marking it as the most-viewed World Series game on a single network in the country. Game 2 followed closely with 9.5 million, resulting in a two-game average of 10.7 million viewers across Japan.

These statistics paint a complex picture of the World Series’ global appeal, as the two-game average across the U.S., Canada, and Japan stands at an impressive 30.5 million viewers. The contrasting trends underscore shifting dynamics in sports viewership, raising questions about the future of Major League Baseball’s audience engagement.

Fans and analysts alike will be eager to see how viewership trends evolve as the World Series progresses. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story as Major League Baseball continues to captivate audiences worldwide.