As a seasoned gamer who grew up watching the thrilling games between the Dodgers and Yankees, I can hardly contain my excitement for this year’s World Series! The prospect of these two legendary teams squaring off once again has me reminiscing about the golden era of baseball when my eyes were glued to the TV screen.
A World Series featuring star teams from the two most significant markets of the nation is expected to lead to a substantial boost in television viewership for the championship series. Should this occur, the World Series will mirror the trend observed during the initial phases of Major League Baseball’s playoffs.
During the playoffs held between October 1st and 20th this year, viewership significantly increased across all rounds compared to 2023, as reported by Nielsen. This increase was observed not only in total viewers but also in key advertising demographics. In fact, viewers spent a staggering 29.5 billion minutes watching playoff baseball during this period. Interestingly, this duration surpasses the combined total of 28.3 billion minutes spent on the top 10 streaming titles from Nielsen’s latest weekly rankings for the period September 9th to 29th.
The initial round of MLB playoffs broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 drew an average of 2.72 million viewers, marking a 21% increase compared to the previous year. Subsequently, the division series expanded by 16%, averaging 3.56 million viewers across Fox, FS1, TBS, and TruTV. Lastly, the championship series experienced a 13% growth on Fox, FS1, and TBS, with an average of 4.96 million viewers per game.
During the playoffs this year, ratings among adults aged 18-49 increased approximately 18% compared to last year, while viewership among adults aged 25-54 grew roughly 14%.
It’s encouraging to see all those positive indicators leading up to the World Series, which kicks off this Friday night on Fox. What makes it even more advantageous for the network is the competition between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees – two of baseball’s most successful teams throughout history. Notably, these squads boast some of the sport’s biggest names: Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) and Aaron Judge (Yankees).
In their most recent encounter during the World Series back in 1981, an impressive crowd of around 41.3 million spectators tuned in – making it the third-largest audience since Nielsen started tracking total viewership figures in the 70s. This year’s series might not reach those heights, but it could potentially halt a significant drop in World Series viewings that we’ve seen lately. Over the past four years, the least-watched World Series on record have taken place, with last year’s average of 9.08 million viewers marking an all-time low.
The viewing trends have significantly shifted from what they were back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, making it unlikely for this year’s World Series to match baseball’s past glory. However, the Dodgers-Yankees matchup might help improve upon the poor viewership numbers seen over the last couple of years. Assuming a series won’t be swept (protracted series often attract more casual viewers), it seems reasonable to expect a viewership increase that could reach a five-year high or even higher.
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2024-10-25 21:24