The World Series drew more viewers in Japan this year than the NBA Finals in the United States

The 2024 World Series may have been short, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees still proved they can draw crowds. Especially in Japan.

This year's Fall Classic averaged 12.1 million viewers in the home country of Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, MLB announced Friday. That's a larger viewership than the 11.3 million viewers averaged for the 2024 NBA Finals earlier this year, when the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks.

In the US, Game 5 of the World Series drew an average of 18.6 million viewers across Fox, Fox Deportes and Fox's streaming services. the network announcedThis makes it the most-watched Game 5 on Fox since the 2017 World Series. The Dodgers won the game 7-6 and secured their eighth title.

Overall, the World Series averaged more than 30 million viewers in North America and Asia.

That a team with Ohtani making a massive impact in Japan represents the least surprising development in the 2024 MLB Playoffs. The Dodgers star is a national hero in the country, and this season he somehow reached a new level of superstardom with an unprecedented 50-50 season and a successful first playoff run. He didn't have the best performance in the actual World Series, but that was at least partially due to a shoulder injury.

Fox's U.S. numbers are up 58% compared to Game 5 of last year's World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, continuing a trend that began with Game 1. With a title within reach, Los Angeles posted the higher local metrics than New York, with a rating of 21.1 and a share of 55.

Viewership peaked between 11:15 and 11:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, around the time the Dodgers took the lead early in the eighth inning and Blake Treinen had to defend that lead with a scoreless frame.

Overall, the World Series averaged 15.8 million viewers per game in the United States, the league's highest since 2017.

For this reason, the television networks probably wished the Yankees had held out a little longer. Fox reportedly averaged $44.3 million in advertising revenue in the first five games alone, with a chance for an even higher number in Games 6 and 7.

It might also be worth asking yourself how much of a win it is for MLB to achieve the same US numbers as just seven years ago, given that it's hard to imagine a better match from a ratings perspective , however, the league has been struggling with an industry-wide decline in television viewership for years.

The period since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 has been particularly difficult for the sports industry, leaving almost every major league at the same level it was seven years ago. Except the NFL, of course.