World Baseball Classic Smashed All Its Ratings Records

Venezuela vs. Team USA averaged over 10 million viewers.

Venezuela's victory over Team USA in the WBC final capped a successful ratings run for the tournament. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

There are few things in television that can compete with football but baseball found a silver bullet with the World Baseball Classic final between Venezuela and the United States on Tuesday. With all evidence pointing that viewership was sky-high, all that was left to do for Fox Sports was to wait with anticipation for the final numbers and they did not disappoint.

Per Sports Media Watch, Venezuela's 3-2 victory over Team USA averaged 10.78 million viewers across Fox and Fox Deportes, significantly higher than any other game in the event's history. This builds on the 7.37 million mark the United States vs. Dominican Republic semifinal yielded on Sunday night.

More than 12 million people were tuned in to see Bryce Harper's dramatic game-tying home run, pushing the final total up higher. All told, this year's apex more than doubled the 2023 final between Japan and the United States, which averaged 4.97 million between FS1 and Fox Deportes.

There are encouraging numbers everywhere MLB and Fox care to look as this year's tournament brought forth five of the six largest audiences in the event's history and the most-viewed game not to include Team USA (Venezuela vs Italy drew 3.8 million viewers).

Sports Media Watch offers up an apt comparison in the 4-Nations Face-Off Final between the United States and Canada last year, which brought in 9.3 million. This year's rematch between those teams in the Olympic hockey final was over 18 million. That brings into question just how well baseball in the Olympics would fare if Major League Baseball players represent their countries at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

For a working understanding here, the WBC has exploded in popularity over the past few years with the tournament's marquee games—and those involving the United States—being ratings gold. Last year's World Series brought in enormous numbers but Tuesday's final averaged more viewers than the 2023 Fall Classic between the Rangers and Diamondbacks.

As the debate continues about just what place WBC has in baseball's overall framework, it's important to note that it is currently a very valuable property and one that has the potential to grow even more.

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