This year’s World Baseball Classic has already set viewership records, and with the United States in the championship for the third consecutive edition, this time against Venezuela, it seems very likely that another viewership record will soon fall.
The 2023 championship between Japan and the United States averaged 4.97 million viewers across FS1 and Fox Deportes. At the time, it was the most-watched World Baseball Classic game in the tournament’s history. But that record has already been surpassed. This year, the United States-Mexico group play game on Fox and Fox Deportes averaged 5.02 million.
It should be noted that, all things being equal, it is likely that more people were watching the championship in 2023 compared to United States-Mexico this year. Since 2023, Nielsen has greatly expanded its out-of-home viewing measurements and introduced its new Big Data + Panel methodology, both of which have generally served to increase live sports viewership compared to prior years.
However, Tuesday’s title game should surpass 2023 regardless of Nielsen changes. A major difference this year compared to 2023 is what network the championship will air on. In 2023, the game aired via cable on FS1. This year, the game will air on broadcast television on Fox. That should provide a significant boost in viewership.
The one United States pool play game on FS1, the Italy upset, averaged 1.9 million viewers on FS1. On Fox, however, the United States pool play games were consistently above 2.5 million viewers, with averages of 2.6 million (Brazil), 2.9 million (Great Britain), and 4.7 million (Mexico). That does not include viewership on Fox Deportes.
Also, the current geopolitical situation between the United States and Venezuela certainly cannot hurt viewership. While the situations are different, hockey’s 4 Nations tournament in 2025 seemed to see a viewership boost because of disagreements between the governments of Canada and the United States. Adding fuel to this theory, after Venezuela won in the semifinal, President Trump posted on Truth Social suggesting the country should become the United States’ 51st state.
How many viewers will actually watch? In 2023, viewership increased 94% from the most-watched non-championship game, 2.55 million for the Japan-Mexico semifinal, to the championship game. In 2017, the championship game was 64% higher than the second most-watched game, a United States-Japan semifinal. Viewership for the 2026 semifinals is not yet available, but a 75% increase from the United States-Mexico pool play game would result in 9.6 million viewers. For comparison, the 4 Nations tournament final averaged 9.3 million on ESPN in 2025.
Interestingly, this is not the matchup the World Baseball Classic wanted. The tournament actually pre-set the bracket to ensure that Japan and the United States could not meet until the Championship, regardless of either country’s record going into the knockout stage. Unfortunately for the tournament, Japan fell to Venezuela in the quarterfinals.
Regardless of the final viewership number, the success of this tournament for baseball raises questions about why continental cups, like a Copa America, do not exist. Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and even the United States have all proven the ability to bring lively fans to tournaments. The tournament’s viewership shows that, in the United States and even in non-traditional baseball countries like Italy, people are captivated by the magic of international baseball. Yet, the only way to watch international baseball is through the World Baseball Classic every three years.
In baseball, the club is still king, but MLB is shooting itself in the foot by not doing even more to promote the international game.
