World Series Viewership Shows Impact of Broadcast Schedule Pivot
A pivot to a Friday start date paid higher dividends this year.
The 2025 World Series, won by the Milwaukee Brewers over the Tampa Rays, achieved an average viewership of 11.83 million viewers, marking a significant shift in audience engagement. This figure, while slightly lower than previous years, still outperformed other Fall Classics in the decade. MLB's decision to start the World Series on Fridays, instead of the traditional Tuesday or Wednesday, began in 2022 to minimize competition with the NFL, which historically draws the highest television ratings.
The strategic move to a Friday start notably impacted the game's viewership, as evidenced by the 8.33 million viewers who tuned in for the low-point Game 3. This figure marked the fourth-lowest World Series game on record, with the lowest count ever recorded in Nielsen's current measurement era. The event, measured via out-of-home measurement, Big Data + Panel process, and enhanced co-viewing statistics, saw the remaining four World Series games all reach eight figures in average viewers, with the clinching Game 5 averaging a remarkable 14.22 million viewers.
The competition with Monday Night Football on ESPN and related Disney platforms, which averaged 18.8 million viewers, highlighted the impact of the NFL's programming on the World Series viewership. Thursday's high-profile matchup between the Dodgers and Yankees also achieved a rare head-to-head win, drawing more viewers than a competing Giants–Steelers game. Thus, MLB's broadcast schedule pivot in 2022 proved to be a pivotal factor in enhancing the World Series' audience engagement, despite the heightened competition.
Written by urgent.news from Front Office Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
