The World Series is averaging 15.15 million viewers in Japan over the first two games. Major League Baseball reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-2 win against the New York Yankees in Game 2 had an average of 15.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched MLB postseason game ever in Japan.
In addition to the excitement around superstar and likely NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher was Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers also had a thrilling 6-3 win over the Yankees in Game 1, which featured Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning, averaging 14.4 million viewers.
Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, so the games started around 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings in Japan. The broadcasts are available on Fuji TV, NHK BS, and J Sports.
When combined with viewership from the United States, the first two games have an average of 29.7 million viewers across both countries.
In the U.S., the World Series is averaging 14.55 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes, and streaming services, which puts it on track for its best performance since 2017.
This is also the first time since the last two games of the 2021 series between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros that the World Series has had back-to-back games with at least 13.4 million viewers.
Nielsen reported that the matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers has led to a 93% increase in viewership among the 18-34 age group. According to MLB, social media engagement has risen by 225%, and views on social channels have grown by 229%.
