2025 World Series Viewership: A Global Hit and Box Office Smash!

This year's Fall Classic between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays wasn't just baseball; it was a record-breaking entertainment spectacle that captivated millions across the globe, proving once again that a great story always finds its audience.

TL;DR: Quick Hits on the World Series Viewership

The 2025 World Series saw incredible global viewership, especially in Canada and Japan, making it one of the most-watched series in years.
An 18-inning epic in Game 3 shattered records and kept millions glued to their screens well past midnight, proving the drama was real.
Big names like Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., combined with a dramatic Game 7, propelled the series to impressive ratings despite shifting measurement methods.

Okay, cinephiles and sports fans, gather 'round! While we usually talk silver screens and box office gold, sometimes a real-life drama unfolds that's just too big to ignore. The 2025 World Series, featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays, was exactly that kind of event. It wasn't just a championship battle; it was a global phenomenon that delivered cinematic levels of tension, star power, and record-breaking viewership, proving that a compelling narrative and unforgettable performances translate across all forms of entertainment.

From nail-biting finishes to an epic 18-inning marathon, this series had it all, and audiences worldwide tuned in to watch the drama unfold. The Dodgers ultimately clinched the title in a thrilling Game 7, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto earning MVP honors, but the real winner might have been the global audience that got to witness this unforgettable spectacle.

The Unstoppable Global Reach of This World Series

Forget your traditional U.S. market focus for a moment because this World Series truly lived up to its name. The presence of Canada’s sole MLB team, the Toronto Blue Jays, along with the star power of Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers, created an international buzz that hadn't been seen in years. It was a true cross-cultural moment, and the viewership numbers prove it.

Game 1 alone averaged a staggering 32.6 million viewers across the U.S., Canada, and Japan, marking the largest combined audience for an MLB game since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. This kind of unified global attention is the stuff of blockbuster movie premieres, showing how much this series resonated.

Breaking down the global impact:

Canada: Blue Jays fans absolutely crushed viewing records! Game 1 on Sportsnet averaged a mind-boggling 7 million viewers, becoming the most-watched Blue Jays game ever. Game 5 then topped that, becoming the most-watched Blue Jays World Series game ever with 7.2 million average viewers. Overall, a massive 19.3 million Canadians tuned in at some point during the series through Game 5, which is more than one-sixth of the entire country's population! Even French-language broadcaster TVA Sports saw its most-watched game ever with 502,000 viewers for the opener.
Japan: Shohei Ohtani's magnetic presence meant Japan was wide awake for early morning games. Game 1, despite its 9 a.m. local start, averaged 11.8 million viewers on NHK-G, making it the most-watched World Series game ever in Japan on a single network. The first two games averaged 10.7 million viewers in Japan, showing the incredible reach of its superstar.
United States: While U.S. viewership for the first two games saw a slight dip from last year's Yankees-Dodgers matchup (averaging 12.5 million compared to 14.55 million), the series picked up serious steam. Through Game 5, the series averaged 13.14 million viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes, and streaming. This makes it the second-best World Series since 2018 through five games, trailing only the previous year.

The Drama Unfolds: Epic Games Kept Audiences Captivated

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Every great story needs its dramatic turning points, and this World Series delivered in spades. Game 3, in particular, was the kind of epic that will be talked about for years to come. Lasting an incredible 18 innings and six hours and 39 minutes, it tied for the longest game in World Series history.

Imagine the dedication: Freddie Freeman's walk-off home run sealed a Dodgers victory at nearly 3 a.m. ET, and remarkably, around 8.5 million people in the U.S. were still watching! That's more viewers than at the first pitch, according to FOX's Mike Mulvihill, highlighting the incredible suspense and a testament to how compelling the baseball drama was. As Stacy Jones, CEO of Hollywood Branded, put it, "Eighteen innings is a broadcaster’s dream and a brand visibility jackpot."

The series' combined Game 5 audience in the USA and Canada reached 22 million viewers, the most since Game 7 of 2019. The rapid growth from Game 2 to Games 4 and 5 showed that the unfolding narrative and a lack of football competition on certain nights truly spiked interest. It's clear that when the stakes are high, people tune in.

"I mean, the numbers this World Series is doing not only in Canada, but everywhere, is unbelievable. I even had to kind of take a step back and be like, dang, this is pretty cool."

— Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays infielder

Unpacking the Numbers: Nielsen's Evolving Viewership Measurements

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It's important to note that some of these impressive numbers come with a bit of a caveat: how viewership is measured has changed quite a bit recently. Nielsen, the big name in ratings, has been evolving its methodology to capture a more complete picture of who's watching and where.

Starting in 2020, they began including "out-of-home" viewing (think bars, restaurants, watch parties), and expanded this even further in 2024. Then, in September of 2025, they integrated "Big Data" from smart TVs and set-top boxes. These changes project numbers more positively than in the past, giving a potentially more accurate look at actual viewership in our streaming-heavy world.

This means direct comparisons to older World Series figures can be tricky, but it also means we're getting a better understanding of just how many eyeballs are truly on these major events.

Star Power and Compelling Matchups Drive Engagement

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At the heart of any great entertainment event are its stars, and this World Series was full of them. Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the Blue Jays brought immense talent and global fan bases. Ohtani starting Game 4, for example, delivered an average of 200,000 more viewers than Game 3, showing his drawing power.

The popularity of these players extends beyond the screen, too, with five players from the Dodgers and Blue Jays on the list of the season's top 20 best-selling jerseys, including Ohtani (#1), Freddie Freeman (#3), Mookie Betts (#4), Clayton Kershaw (#12), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (#15). This kind of merchandise success is another indicator of a major entertainment property.

The matchup itself was also crucial. Despite the conventional wisdom that networks prefer two U.S. markets, sports media expert John Kosner compared this series to the 2019 NBA Finals (Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors), which also featured a Canadian team and a global superstar. His take? "It really matters more that the teams can capture people’s attention." The Dodgers' "superteam" status and the Blue Jays' compelling run through the playoffs proved to be an irresistible combination.

Financially, FOX Sports was a huge beneficiary, on target to make at least $274 million in total in-game ad revenue, increasing to over $330 million if the series reached Game 7. Even the German workwear brand Engelbert Strauss, whose logo appears on MLB players' helmets, was expected to earn between $13.6 million and $17.8 million in media value, with the 18-inning Game 3 potentially adding another $2 million to $3.3 million in "earned media value." This is the kind of massive financial impact seen with major film franchises!

Looking Back and Forward: A Memorable Conclusion

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While the World Series had some stiff competition (like a Monday Night Football game drawing 17.6 million viewers against Game 3), its overall performance was outstanding. Compared to the 2023 World Series (Texas-Arizona), which was the lowest-rated of all time, this year's Fall Classic showed a significant rebound, up 15% through Game 5.

Game 7, which saw the Dodgers ultimately repeat as champions, was expected to draw around 20 million viewers. While the Saturday night slot and college football competition might have slightly impacted the final numbers compared to a weekday Game 7 like 2019's (which averaged 23 million), hitting 20 million would still be a massive success for both FOX and Major League Baseball, potentially surpassing the Oscars (19.7M) as the most-watched non-football program of the year.

This 2025 World Series proved that baseball, when presented with compelling narratives, global superstars, and an undeniable level of drama, can still be an absolute blockbuster hit, captivating audiences from Canada to Japan and everywhere in between. It was a true spectacle, and we can't wait to see what next year's "season finale" brings!

Frequently Asked Questions About the 2025 World Series

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Who won the 2025 World Series? The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games to become the 2025 World Series champions. Who was the World Series MVP? Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was named the World Series MVP for his epic performance, particularly in Game 7. How many innings was the longest game in the 2025 World Series? Game 3 of the series went an astonishing 18 innings, tying the record for the longest World Series game in history. It lasted six hours and 39 minutes! What were the key broadcast channels for the World Series? In the U.S., the series was primarily broadcast on FOX, FOX Deportes, and various streaming platforms. In Canada, it aired on Sportsnet and TVA Sports, and in Japan, NHK-G and NHK-BS carried the games.