MLB All-Star Game Ratings Get a Boost From World Cup

The MLB All-Star Game has recovered some viewership momentum, and likely has the FIFA men’s World Cup to thank for part of that. 

Fox Sports said late Thursday that it averaged 8.79 million viewers for Tuesday night’s Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, won by the American League by a 4–0 score. That viewership figure is up by 22% from last year’s comparable audience of 7.2 million. The game’s audience is the highest since 2018. 

This year’s broadcast had the strong benefit of a lead-in from Tuesday afternoon’s coverage of the Spain-France World Cup semifinal, which averaged 11.46 million viewers, according to preliminary data. The audience increase for the 2026 All-Star Game also happened despite the absence of megastars Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, as well as a series of top pitchers. 

That player situation rankled the game’s two managers, the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts and Blue Jays’ John Schneider, but viewers were nonetheless treated to a broadcast filled with historic nods to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in-game fireworks, and musical performances by Jennifer Hudson, Patti LaBelle, and Boyz II Men. 

With the viewership increase, Fox said that MLB was able to reclaim its traditional position as the most-watched all-star game in major U.S. pro sports. That crown had resided with the NBA, which pivoted earlier this year to a round-robin, globally oriented competition. Along with a media shift to NBC Sports platforms, saw a near-doubling in the audience to 8.8 million. 

The latest MLB number, however, essentially puts the two All-Star Games in a dead heat when including the respective Spanish-language coverage for both events. The English-language coverage of the MLB All-Star Game by itself averaged 8.675 million viewers, while the comparable figure for the NBA All-Star Game in February was 8.46 million viewers.

MLB also completed its All-Star Game activities in Philadelphia with a 45% increase in merchandise sales at the All-Star Village fan festival compared to last year, setting a new event record. When combined with activity with other sales outlets, such as Citizens Bank Park and online, the 2026 event merchandise sales matched records seen in Los Angeles in 2022.  

The All-Star Village, held this year at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, drew a final attendance of 111,616, also representing the best such figure since four years ago in Los Angeles.