TORONTO — U.S. viewership for the 2025 World Series is going to show a decline from last year. The question is by how much, and to what degree that will be countered by record-level audiences expected in Canada.
The Dodgers–Blue Jays matchup, producing the first truly international World Series in 32 years, creates a particularly unique situation that will also alter how the event’s performance on television is evaluated.
On the surface, the presence of the Blue Jays in this year’s World Series creates an immediate issue for U.S. viewership. Toronto is not part of Nielsen’s U.S.-based audience measurement, which led to flat viewership numbers for the American League Championship Series from last year, despite the high drama of the Blue Jays’ seven-game thriller with the Mariners.
Even as MLB continues its push to grow its presence nationally and internationally, locally based viewership from competing teams is a critical driver of overall consumption.
As a result, reaching last season’s U.S. average of 15.8 million for the five-game World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers—a seven-year high—is all but impossible. For Fox, though, there are still silver linings.
“Chances are if the World Series goes five games or more, total viewing of the entire postseason in the U.S. will be up versus 2024,” tweeted Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill. “That would be a good story when you’ve traded the Yankees for Toronto in the World Series. It’s hard to argue that the state of MLB is anything but very strong, although for some reason plenty of people seem to like to try.”
Big Impact North of the Border
It’s an entirely different situation in Canada. Even before the World Series, Sportsnet reached an all-time high for Blue Jays viewership with Game 7 of the ALCS, posting an average audience of 6 million. That figure represented about 15% of the entire Canadian population, a level of penetration seen in the U.S. only for the later rounds of the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.
That will only escalate in the World Series as the Blue Jays’ run has become a source of deep national pride for all of Canada.
“The appetite across the country for the Jays has been nothing short of incredible,” Sportsnet VP Rob Corte tells Front Office Sports. “In particular, the interest just in the last couple of years has really jumped. And we have had the unique opportunity this year to track the team all the way from spring training to what we hope is the pinnacle.”
The presence of the Blue Jays in the World Series also marks a significant first for Sportsnet. Without the Blue Jays there, the network would have taken MLB’s international feed to show the World Series to Canadian viewers. This year, however, Sportsnet will have what is the first native production of the World Series by a Canadian broadcaster, in part leveraging some resources from Fox. Sportsnet has branded the World Series as the biggest single production initiative it has undertaken in its history.
The situation also reflects the powerful nature of Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays, Sportsnet, Rogers Centre, and now has majority control of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
Game 1 of the World Series is Friday at 8 p.m. ET in Toronto.
