MLB postseason seeing increased audiences in the U.S., Canada and Japan

Major League Baseball (MLB) is experiencing its most-watched postseason in the United States since 2017, with viewership through the League Championship Series (LCS) averaging 4.48 million, marking a 13% increase from last year. This surge is largely attributed to the first two rounds of the playoffs, particularly the American League Championship Series (ALCS), which averaged 4.99 million viewers across seven games on Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes, and streaming platforms. This figure matches last year’s ALCS viewership on TNT Sports, where the New York Yankees triumphed over the Cleveland Guardians in five games. Fox and TNT Sports alternate broadcasting rights for the leagues each season. TNT Sports faced a setback due to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ four-game sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers, with Shohei Ohtani’s remarkable three-homer game and 10-strikeout performance in Game 4 drawing an average of 3.51 million viewers on a Friday night. The series averaged 4.7 million viewers, a 17% decline from last year’s six-game series between the New York Mets and Dodgers on Fox. The Toronto Blue Jays’ thrilling 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the ALCS averaged 9.03 million viewers, peaking at 12.35 million during the ninth inning, making it the most-watched ALCS game in eight years. Internationally, MLB has seen significant growth, particularly in Canada and Japan. Toronto’s victory, which secured their first World Series appearance since 1993, averaged 6 million viewers in Canada, becoming the most-watched Blue Jays game on Sportsnet. In Japan, Ohtani’s standout performance in Game 4 averaged 10.26 million viewers, the second most-watched LCS game in the country’s history. The NLCS also set a record in Japan with 7.34 million viewers, a 26% increase from last year, as fans continue to follow stars like Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki in record numbers.