With the first appearance of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Major League Baseball World Series (MLB) between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees had a average of 12.9 million viewers in Japanwhich made it the most watched Fall Classic in the history of that country.
MLB makes history in Japan with the 2024 World Series
Along with U.S. ratings, the five-game series between the Dodgers and Yankees had a combined average of 28.7 million in the two countries.
The Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in the Game 2 averaged 15.9 million in Japan, making it the Most-watched postseason game in nation’s history, according to Major League Baseball. Yamamoto was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher and only allowed one run and one hit in 6.1 innings.
Tokyo is 19 hours ahead of New York and 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, meaning games started around 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday in the morning in Japan. The games were broadcast on Fuji TV, NHK BS and J Sports.
World Series breaks audience records worldwide
The World Series also had a record audience in Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Taiwan, according to MLB.
The World Series had a average 15.8 million viewers in the US on Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming, its best audience since 2017. That’s a 67 percent increase over last yearwhen the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games with an average of only 9.11 million viewers, which was the lowest average in recorded history.
Los Angeles was the main market with a rating of 18.9 and a share of 53, while New York was third with a rating of 12.4 and a share of 41. San Diego, a rival city of Los Angeles, was the second city with the highest rating, scoring 12.4 and a share of 41. .
Rating is the percentage of television households tuning into a particular event or program. Engagement refers to a percentage of the audience watching at that moment.
Fox and FS1 averaged 7.49 million viewers in the postseason, a 42 percent jump from last year and their best average in seven years.
