URGENT UPDATE: The first two games of the World Series have seen a startling 14% drop in U.S. viewership compared to last year. Major League Baseball (MLB) confirmed that the average audience for this year’s match-up between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays plummeted to 12.5 million viewers, down from 14.55 million in 2022, where the Dodgers faced the New York Yankees.
Despite the decline in the U.S., viewership from Canada and Japan soared to record-breaking numbers. The combined audience for the World Series opener across the U.S., Canada, and Japan reached 32.6 million, the highest figure since the historic 2016 World Series when the Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year championship drought.
Game 1, which featured the Blue Jays defeating the Dodgers 11-4, attracted an impressive 13.3 million viewers. In stark contrast, Game 2 saw the Dodgers win 5-1, averaging 11.63 million viewers, notably excluding Univision’s coverage. Last year’s opener, which concluded with a dramatic grand slam by Freddie Freeman, drew an impressive 15.2 million viewers, marking it as the most-watched Series game since 2019.
The Blue Jays’ performance has galvanized Canadian audiences, with Game 1 drawing 7 million viewers and Game 2 reaching 6.6 million on Sportsnet, making these the most-watched Blue Jays games in the network’s history. Notably, the opener also featured French-language commentary on TVA Sports, attracting 502,000 viewers, a record for that network.
In Japan, viewership surged as well, with Game 1 averaging 11.8 million viewers on NHK-G, a record for World Series games aired by a single network in the country. Game 2’s average of 9.5 million brought the two-game average in Japan to 10.7 million.
With viewership trends shifting and the Series capturing global attention, MLB officials are closely monitoring these developments. Fans and analysts alike are eager to see how these numbers will evolve in the coming games. As the World Series continues, the spotlight remains on the Dodgers and Blue Jays, setting the stage for a thrilling championship showdown.
Stay tuned for updates as the Series unfolds, and watch for potential shifts in viewer engagement across all broadcasting platforms. This year’s ambitious matchup is not just about the games but also about the growing international interest and the changing landscape of sports viewership.
