World Series Viewership: US Numbers Dip, International Audiences Soar
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Despite a 14% decline in U.S. viewership, the first two games of the 2023 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays have captivated international audiences, with record-breaking numbers reported in Canada and Japan. The contrasting trends highlight a shifting landscape in baseball’s global appeal.
U.S. Viewership Experiences a Decline
U.S. viewership for the opening two games of the World Series averaged 12.5 million viewers across Fox, Fox Deportes, fox One streaming, the Fox Sports app, and Univision, according to Major League Baseball. This represents a decrease from the 14.55 million average for the first two games of the 2022 series between the Los Angeles dodgers and the New York Yankees. A senior official stated that this dip could be attributed to a variety of factors, including game times and competing programming.
Global Appeal drives Record Numbers
While U.S. numbers saw a decline, the international response has been overwhelmingly positive. The combined viewership for the opener in the U.S., Canada, and Japan reached 32.6 million, marking the highest total since the Chicago Cubs’ historic championship win in 2016.
Canada witnessed unprecedented engagement, with Game 1 drawing 7 million viewers and Game 2 attracting 6.6 million – the two most-watched Blue Jays games ever on Sportsnet, which is owned by Rogers Communications Inc. The network’s parent company likely benefited from the increased attention. French-language coverage on TVA Sports also reached a peak of 502,000 viewers for the opener, the network’s most-watched game to date.
Japan also demonstrated a strong appetite for the series. game 1 averaged 11.8 million viewers on NHK-G, the most-viewed World Series game ever televised by a single network in the country. Game 2 followed with 9.5 million viewers on NHK-BS, resulting in a two-game average of 10.7 million.
Game-by-Game Breakdown
Toronto’s 11-4 victory in Game 1 averaged 13,305,000 viewers, while Los Angeles’ 5-1 win in Game 2, which did not include Univision coverage, averaged 11.63 million. For comparison, Los Angeles’ 6-3, 10-inning win in last year’s opener, capped off by Freddie Freeman’s grand slam, was seen by 15.2 million, the most-watched Series game since 2019. The Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in Game 2 last year was viewed by 13.44 million.
The diverging viewership trends suggest a growing international fanbase for Major League Baseball, even as domestic interest experiences fluctuations. This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for the league as it seeks to expand its global reach and maintain its position as a premier sporting event.
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What: the first two games of the 2023 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and
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