World Baseball Classic television ratings
Television show ratings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World Baseball Classic is one of the world's most viewed baseball events.[1][2][3] The 2026 tournament was broadcast in 172 territories through 150 media partners, and it was broadcast in 14 languages globally.[4]
Viewership/rating
English
The tournament has hit new high levels in attendance and US Television viewership: the 2023 attendance record was broken before the pool play was ended, and US viewership of the final hit 10 million viewers for the first time ever.[5][6]
Most watched World Baseball Classic games in the United States
| Rank | Date | Matchup | Network | Viewers (millions) | Round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuesday, March 17, 2026 |  Venezuela |
3 |  United States |
2 | Fox | 10.87 | Final |
| 2 | Sunday, March 15, 2026 | United States |
2 |  Dominican Republic |
1 | Fox Sports 1 Fox Deportes |
7.37 | Semifinal |
| 3 | Monday, March 9, 2026 | United States |
5 |  Mexico |
3 | Fox Fox Deportes |
5.02 | Group Play |
| 4 | Tuesday, March 21, 2023 |  Japan |
3 | United States |
2 | 4.97 | Final | |
| 5 | Friday, March 13, 2026 | United States |
5 |  Canada |
3 | 4.30 | Quarterfinal | |
| 6 | Wednesday, March 22, 2017 | United States |
8 |  Puerto Rico |
0 | MLB Network ESPN2 ESPN Deportes |
3.05 | Final |
| 7 | Saturday, March 7, 2026 | United States |
9 |  Great Britain |
1 | Fox Fox Deportes |
2.98 | Pool Play |
| 8 | Sunday, March 22, 2009 | Japan |
9 | United States |
4 | ESPN ESPN Deportes |
2.95 | Semifinal |
| 9 | Saturday, March 14, 2026 | Venezuela |
8 | Japan |
5 | Fox Fox Deportes |
2.80 | Quarterfinal |
| 10 | Friday, March 6, 2026 | United States |
15 |  Brazil |
5 | 2.69 | Pool Play | |
Spanish
In 2023, eight of the twenty competing nations were from Caribbean and Latin America, and matchups featured at least one nation from these regions in 29 out of the 47 total games.
The Pool D game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic was viewed by 62% of households in Puerto Rico.[7] In Mexico, the 2023 Classic Semi-Final match between Mexico and Japan was broadcast by Imagen Televisión and viewed by 2.2 million people.[8]
Japanese
In Japan, Netflix acquired the exclusive rights to the tournament for an estimated 15 billion yen.[9] In Japan, nearly 100 million people watched the WBC in 2023,[10] and 55+ million people watched the end of the tournament, as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout. The 2023 tournament semifinal between Mexico and Japan recorded 29 million average viewers in just those two countries alone.[11][12][8]
| Classic | Date | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Network(s) | Avg. viewers(Millions) | Rating | Share | ||
| Quarterfinals | Mar 16, 2023 |
TBS TV Asahi |
38.16[13] | 48.0[14] | Unknown |
| Game 2 | Mar 10, 2023 |
29.86[15] | 44.4[16] | Unknown | |
| Game 4 | Mar 12, 2023 |
34.25[17] | 43.2[18] | Unknown | |
| Game 3 | Mar 11, 2023 |
34.25[17] | 43.1[18] | Unknown | |
| Semifinals | Mar 20, 2023 |
27.02[19] | 42.5[20] | Unknown | |
| Finals | Mar 22, 2023 |
27.61[19] | 42.4[21] | Unknown | |
| Game 1 | Mar 9, 2023 |
28.56[22] | 41.9[23] | Unknown | |
Korean
In South Korea, the absolute peak in WBC history is the 2009 WBC Championship Final against Japan, which drew a colossal combined terrestrial rating of 39.2%.
Traditional Chinese
In Chinese Taipei, the all-time highest-rated WBC match remains the 2013 WBC second-round game against Japan, which achieved a staggering single-channel rating of 18.77% on EBC.
Others
In China, the 2023 WBC was broadcast on the country's largest websites, including Weibo.[24] The match between China and Japan was watched by up to 422,000 people.[25]
In the Czech Republic, about 840,000 people watched the WBC games through ČT, marking a significant milestone as the country's first-ever live terrestrial broadcast of baseball.[26]
In Italy, the 2026 WBC sparked an unprecedented baseball boom, culminating in a historic milestone where over 7 million viewers watched the semifinal match against Venezuela.
Broadcasting rights
Table based on 2026 Classic
See also
Notes
- Colombia games only
- Colombia games only
- all Japan games
- one quarterfinal, one semifinal, and the final
- except Mexico
- Official broadcasters; for CHT MOD and OTT (ELTA.tv and Hami Video)
- Terrestrial and cable TV broadcast only
