Major League Baseball’s viewership in both the United States and Japan continues to grow in the wake of rule changes that have made the game more entertaining and with the stars of the game, like reigning MVPs Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, exciting fans with brilliant performances.
With more than two months of the season completed, FOX, ESPN and TBS have all registered viewership gains of double-digit percentages for MLB games this season. In addition, MLB games on Japan’s NHK and streaming on MLB.TV are also up significantly.
MLB on FOX is +10% versus last year with average viewership of 1.841 million viewers per game.
ESPN’s MLB coverage has increased +22% versus last year, with average viewership of 1.740 million viewers per game. This season marks the most-watched MLB season on ESPN to this point in eight years (since 2017).
Viewership for MLB Tuesday on TBS is up +16% vs. last year, and the best-ever start for its regular season Tuesday coverage. This also includes a +69% year-over-year increase in viewership among the P18-34 demographic.
In addition, the MLB Network Showcase Game telecast series has seen a +13% rise in viewership over 2024, including +13% in the 18-34 demographic. Many of MLB Network’s studio shows are pacing ahead of 2024 in viewership, including the Emmy-nominated MLB Central (+3%), Intentional Talk (+7%), and Quick Pitch (+3%).
Tokyo Series 2025: Dodgers vs. Cubs
• Ohtani rises to occasion, electrifies Tokyo Dome with 1st HR
• All the top moments from Tokyo Series Game 2
• Sasaki makes highly anticipated MLB debut
• Cubs hope Tokyo's 'playoff environment' a sign of things to come
• Sadaharu Oh has never seen this 'level of excitement'
• Ohtani ignites Dodgers past Cubs in Tokyo Series opener
• Top moments from Tokyo Series Game 1
• Imanaga bests Ohtani in 'made for TV' Tokyo matchup
• 'I'll remember everything': Shaw makes much-anticipated debut
• Pokémon front and center as Tokyo Series celebrates Japanese icons
• Tokyo school visit all about Japan's baseball future
In Japan, MLB viewership across NHK channels has grown +22% with an average audience of 2.7 million viewers. This average does not include the Tokyo Series, the first two games of the year featuring the Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers which averaged 24 million viewers per game. NHK viewership is on pace to be MLB’s most-watched regular season ever in Japan and the fifth-straight viewership gain since 2021.
On MLB.TV, streaming viewership has increased +27% vs 2024, which was the most-watched season in the history of the service. For games through Monday, June 2, MLB.TV has more than 7.5 billion minutes watched this season.