Major League Baseball (MLB) is only two months into its season; however, if the final four months play out like the first two, the league is in for record ratings.
According to MLB and Nielsen, the league has experienced a double-digit increase in viewership in both the United States and Japan.
“ESPN’s coverage is up 22%, averaging 1.74 million viewers,” the AP reports. “It is the most-watched season on ESPN through the first two months since 2017.”
Ironically, ESPN opted out of its rights deal with MLB earlier this year, and this season could be the “four-letter network’s” final season carrying baseball. However, the strong season the league is having could prompt a change of heart in the corridors of power in Bristol.
“The MLB Tuesday package on TBS has a 16% increase,” according to the AP. “Fox Sports is up 10%, averaging 1.84 million viewers per game. The MLB.TV streaming package has seen its viewers increase 27%, with more than 7.5 billion minutes watched through Monday.”
The impressive stateside numbers are reflected in the league’s growing popularity in Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun’s favorite son, Dodger slugger Shohei Ohtani, is the best player in baseball, and coming off a World Series championship. However, Japanese televisions and streaming services are also locked onto MLB’s other stars and teams.
“Games on the NHK channels in Japan are averaging 2.7 million. The average does not include the Tokyo Series games between the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, which began the regular season, the AP reports.
“The ratings are on pace for MLB’s most-watched regular season in Japan as the audience has increased every year since 2021.”
As if all that weren’t enough, MLB.TV streaming services have seen a 27% increase over 2024, which was already a record year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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