World Baseball Classic television ratings

The World Baseball Classic one of the world's most viewed baseball events.[1][2][3] The 2023 tournament was broadcast in 163 territories through 63 media partners, and it was broadcast in 13 languages around the globe.[4] and received US$100 million in benefits,[5] and In the Japanese archipelago, nearly 100 million people watched the WBC in 2023,[6] 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.[7][8][9]

Viewership/rating

Worldwide

Tournament Avg.
viewers (Millions)
(since 2023)1		 Founder
World Baseball Classic championship 32.81 m[10][11] MLB
WBSC
World Series 11.48 m[12] MLB
College World Series 2.75 m[13] NCAA
Little League World Series 1.08 m[14] Little League Baseball

The tournament is one of the most popular events in the Caribbean, Central and South America, particularly in Venezuela, part of Northern Colombia and is called the "Clásico Mundial".[15][16][17] The match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico is considered a strong rivalry, called "El Clásico". The 2023 tournament was broadcast on China's largest websites, including Weibo.[18] The match between China and Japan was watched by up to 422,000 people.[19] and In addition, in Europe, In the Czech Republic, about 840,000 people watched WBC game through ČT[20]

Japan

In addition to Latin America, The tournament is considered a major sporting event in East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Japan, nearly 100 million people watched the WBC in 2023,[6] and 55+ million people watched the end of the tournament, as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout.

World Baseball Classic television ratings in Japanese archipelago showing network(s) broadcast on and average viewership, 2023
Classic Date
Network(s) Avg. viewers(Millions) Rating Share
Quarterfinals Mar 16,
2023 		TBS
TV Asahi 		38.16[21] 48.0[22] Unknown
Game 2 Mar 10,
2023 		29.86[23] 44.4[24] Unknown
Game 4 Mar 12,
2023 		34.25[25] 43.2[26] Unknown
Game 3 Mar 11,
2023 		34.25[25] 43.1[26] Unknown
Semifinals Mar 20,
2023 		27.02[11] 42.5[27] Unknown
Finals Mar 22,
2023 		27.61[11] 42.4[28] Unknown
Game 1 Mar 9,
2023 		28.56[29] 41.9[30] Unknown

United States

Most watched World Baseball Classic games in the United States

Rank Date Matchup Network Viewers (millions) Round
1 Saturday, March 14, 2026 United States 2 Dominican Republic 1 Fox Sports 1
Fox Deportes 		7.37 Semifinal
2 Monday, March 9, 2026 Mexico 3 United States 5 Fox
Fox Deportes 		5.02 Group Play
3 Tuesday, March 21, 2023 United States 2 Japan 3 4.97 Final
4 Friday, March 13, 2026 United States 5 Canada 3 4.30 Quarterfinal
5 Wednesday, March 22, 2017 United States 8 Puerto Rico 0 MLB Network
ESPN2
ESPN Deportes 		3.05 Final
6 Saturday, March 7, 2026 Great Britain 1 United States 9 Fox
Fox Deportes 		2.98 Pool Play
7 Sunday, March 22, 2009 United States 4 Japan 9 ESPN
ESPN Deportes 		2.95 Semifinal
8 Saturday, March 14, 2026 Venezuela 8 Japan 5 Fox
Fox Deportes 		2.80 Quarterfinal
9 Friday, March 6, 2026 United States 15 Brazil 5 2.69 Quarterfinal
10 Sunday, March 8, 2009 United States 15 Venezuela 6 ESPN
ESPN Deportes 		2.66 Pool Play

Mexico

In Mexico, the 2023 Classic Semi-Final match between Mexico and Japan was broadcast by Imagen Televisión and viewed by 2.2 million people.[9]

Broadcasting rights

Table based on 2026 Classic

Territory Rights holder(s) Ref.
Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania ESPN [31]
Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland Sportdigital [32]
Brazil ESPN and Disney+ [31]
Canada Sportsnet (English) [33][31]
TVA Sports (French) [31]
Caribbean ESPN and Disney+ [31]
China BesTV, Douyin, MIGU, Tencent Video, Fujian TV, and Youku [31]
Colombia Caracol HD2,[a] Ditu[b] [31][34]
Cuba Tele Rebelde [31]
Czechia Česká Televize [35]
Dominican Republic VTV 32, Tele Antillas, and Coral 39 [36]
France beIN Sports [31]
Hungary Sport1 [31]
Ireland and United Kingdom TNT Sports [31]
Israel Sports 5 [31]
Italy and San Marino Sky Sport Italy and RAI 2/RAI Sport [31][37][38]
Japan Netflix [39]
Nippon Hoso[c], Bunka Hōsō,[d] and Radiko (Audio Only) [40]
South Korea TVING, tvN/tvN Sports, KBS, SBS, and MBC [41]
Latin America ESPN and Disney+ [31]
1 Baseball Network[e]
Macau and Southeast Asia SPOTV [31]
MENA beIN Sports [31]
Mexico TelevisaUnivision and ESPN[f] [42][43]
Netherlands ESPN
Nicaragua Viva Nicaragua [44]
Panama RPC and TV Max [31]
Puerto Rico WAPA Deportes [45]
Sub-Saharan Africa ESPN and Disney+ [31]
Taiwan ELTA[g], EBC, TTV,[h] and Videoland [46][47][48][49][50]
Turkey S Sport [31]
United States Fox Sports (English) [51]
Fox Deportes (Spanish)
Venezuela Televen, IVC, ByM Sport and Venevisión. [52]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Colombia games only
  2. ^ Colombia games only
  3. ^ all Japan games
  4. ^ one quarterfinal, one semifinal, and the final
  5. ^ except Mexico
  6. ^ All Mexico games, one semifinal, and the final on Canal 5, Nueve, or ViX
  7. ^ Official broadcasters; for CHT MOD and OTT (ELTA.tv and Hami Video)
  8. ^ Terrestrial and cable TV broadcast only

References

  1. ^ "USA-Japan WBC Title Game Could Be the Most-Watched Baseball Game in History". nbcboston.com. March 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "How World Baseball Classic may have helped MLB, Cubs grow". allchgo.com. March 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "When is the World Baseball Classic final? Date, start time, and TV listings". www.sportskeeda.com. March 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023 World Baseball Classic reaches 163 territories". broadcastnow.co.uk. March 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "WBC delivers emphatic turnout, as much as $100M in revenue". sportsbusinessjournal.com. March 23, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "平日WBC決勝の視聴者数は延べ約1億人 生中継テレ朝系5463万9000人、録画TBS系4183万8000人". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 23, 2023. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023.
  7. ^ In United Mexican States, Imagen broadcast and recorded 1.9m viewers, and In Japanese archipelago, broadcast and TBS, recorded 27.02m viewers
  8. ^ "WBC日本戦全7試合 全国で推計9446.2万人が視聴". oricon.co.jp. March 23, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Clásico Mundial: Semifinal México vs Japón tuvo un rating brutal". septimaentrada.com. March 22, 2023.
  10. ^ United States watched Just by 5.2m people and Japanese watched just by 27.61m people
  11. ^ a b c "Wbc日本戦全7試合 全国で推計9446.2万人が視聴".
  12. ^ Paulsen (October 31, 2023). "TV ratings for the World Series finally improve, just in time for the Diamondbacks to exit". azcentral.com.
  13. ^ "2023 NCAA Men's College World Series Marks Most-Watched MCWS on ESPN Platforms on Record". espnpressroom.com. June 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "Little League World Series Sees Highest Viewership Since 2015". frontofficesports.com. August 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Ni un dominicano en el anunciado Equipo Todos Estrellas del Clásico Mundial 2023
  16. ^ Clásico Mundial 2023: ¡Por TV abierta! Canal y horarios para ver los juegos de Méxicoc
  17. ^ Cantidad de dinero dado al equipo campeón del Clásico Mundial 2023
  18. ^ "Where to Watch the 2023 World Baseball Classic". mlb.com. March 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Weibo MLB美职棒大联盟
  20. ^ "母国84万人が勇姿に夢中！ チェコ"史上初の野球中継"の視聴者数が話題に。世界大会での躍動に話題は尽きず【WBC】". THE DIGEST (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  21. ^ "【WBC】日本―イタリア戦、全国推計視聴人数6258万人！視聴率はテレ朝歴代２位を記録". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 17, 2023.
  22. ^ "侍WBC 伊戦視聴率48％！野球歴代1位「10・8決戦」48・8％に肉薄 祝日21日の準決勝にも期待". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 18, 2023.
  23. ^ "最強侍ジャパンに列島熱狂！視聴率４戦すべて４０％超え 韓国戦がＷＢＣ歴代１位、０６年決勝上回る". sanspo.com. March 14, 2023.
  24. ^ "WBC視聴率、40%超続々 佐々木先発のチェコ戦は岩手62.6%". asahi.com. March 13, 2023.
  25. ^ a b "WBCチェコ戦・オーストラリア戦 それぞれ推計約6000万人が視聴 全国の日本人がテレビに釘付けに62.6%". sponichi.co.jp. March 13, 2023.
  26. ^ a b "WBC視聴率、40%超続々 佐々木先発のチェコ戦は岩手62.6%". asahi.com. March 18, 2023.
  27. ^ "日本×メキシコ戦の視聴率は４２・５％…再編集した夜の緊急特番は１９・８％". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 22, 2023.
  28. ^ "侍ジャパン世界一、決勝・米国戦の視聴率は４２・４％ 全７試合４０％超え／ＷＢＣ". sanspo.com. March 23, 2023.
  29. ^ "TBS放送の侍ジャパン中国戦「全国視聴者人数」6000万人超62.6%". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 10, 2023.
  30. ^ "日本快勝発進の中国戦、視聴率は４１・９％…歴代ＷＢＣでは０６年決勝に続く２位62.6%". yomiuri.co.jp. March 10, 2023.
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Where to Watch | World Baseball Classic 2026". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  32. ^ "Ab dem 5. März dürfen wir für euch den World Baseball Classic übertragen! Auf Sportdigital1+ zeigen wir euch ausgewählte Spiele der in Japan, den USA und Puerto Rico stattfindenden Gruppenphase sowie die komplette K.o.-Phase! Im Stream auf Sportdigital und in der Sportdigital+-App gibt es insgesamt über 40 Spiele zu sehen. Natürlich werden auch so viele Spiele wie möglich auf Deutsch kommentiert, unsere" [Starting March 5, we will be broadcasting the World Baseball Classic for you! On Sportdigital1+, we will be showing selected games from the group stage taking place in Japan, the USA, and Puerto Rico, as well as the entire knockout stage! A total of over 40 games will be available to watch via stream on Sportdigital and in the Sportdigital+ app. Of course, as many games as possible will be commentated on in German.]. instagram.com. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  33. ^ Staff, Sportsnet (January 29, 2026). "Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez to pitch for Cuba at World Baseball Classic". Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026. The World Baseball Classic is back for its sixth edition, running from March 5-17 in Miami, Houston, San Juan and Tokyo. Catch all the action on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
  34. ^ "Dónde ver los partidos de Colombia en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol; hora y TV, EN VIVO". Gol Caracol. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  35. ^ "World Baseball Classic se vrací na obrazovky ČT Sport!". ČT Sport. January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Instagram.
  36. ^ MIRABAL, FRANKLIN (December 2, 2025). "Grupo Panorama presenta cadena de transmisión del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol". Impacto Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  37. ^ "RAI Sport will broadcast Italy's upcoming games and the Final of the World Baseball Classic". Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball. Archived from the original on March 11, 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  38. ^ "Importante cambio di programmazione per la diretta della sfida tra Messico-Italia di questa notte del World Baseball Classic. La partita sarà infatti trasmessa in diretta anche su Rai 2 a partire dalle ore 00.40.
    Questa la programmazione completa della sfida decisiva per il passaggio al secondo turno del torneo:
    𝐑𝐚𝐢 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 (canale 58 del Digitale Terrestre): dalle 23.50 di mercoledì 11 marzo alle 00.40 di giovedì 12 marzo;
    𝐑𝐚𝐢 𝟐: dalle 00.40 di giovedì 12 marzo.
    La partita sarà trasmessa integralmente anche su 𝐒𝐤𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐱 (ch.206 del bouquet di Sky) dalle ore 00.00 di giovedì 12 marzo"     [Important programming change for the live broadcast of tonight's Mexico–Italy game at the WBC.
    The game will also be broadcast live on Rai 2, starting at 12:40 a.m.
    Rai Sport (Channel 58 on Digital Terrestrial): from 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 to 12:40 a.m. Thursday, March 12
    Rai 2: from 12:40 a.m. Thursday, March 12
    The game will also be broadcast in full on Sky Sport Max (Channel 206 on the Sky platform) starting at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, March 12.]. FIBS – via Facebook.
  39. ^ "World Baseball Classic Inc. and Netflix Announce Exclusive Partnership for 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan". About Netflix. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  40. ^ "6大会連続でのWBC生中継が実現！「ニッポン放送ショウアップナイタースペシャル 2026 ワールドベースボールクラシック実況中継」 | radiko news(ラジコニュース)". news.radiko.jp (in Japanese). December 10, 2025. Archived from the original on December 22, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  41. ^ "CJ ENM, 2026 월드 베이스볼 클래식(WBC) 중계권 체결! 다각화된 스포츠 콘텐츠 전략 이어간다". CJ Newsroom (in Korean). December 17, 2025. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved December 31, 2025. '2026 WBC(World Baseball Classic)'는 디지털에선 TVING 독점으로 전경기가 생중계되며, TV는 지상파 3사와 계열 스포츠채널, 그리고 tvN SPORTS 채널에서 중계될 예정으로 세부적인 방송계획은 논의 중에 있다. [The 2026 World Baseball Classic will be exclusively live-streamed on TVING for all games. Broadcasts on TV will be available on the three major FTA (SBS, KBS and MBC), their affiliated sports channels, and tvN SPORTS.]
  42. ^ RAÍZ (December 31, 2025). "Televisa tendrá el Clásico Mundial de Beisbol en México". Marca México (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  43. ^ "TelevisaUnivision ofrecerá toda la emoción de la Major League Baseball". Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  44. ^ "¡La pasión y la emoción del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 se vive por Viva Nicaragua - Canal 13!". Viva Nicaragua. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via instagram.
  45. ^ "Wapa Deportes revalida como canal oficial y exclusivo del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 en PR". WAPA.TV (in Spanish). July 9, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  46. ^ 謝文哲 (January 13, 2026). "愛爾達取得世界棒球經典賽轉播權 61場資格賽、正賽全都包" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Mirror Media. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Yahoo! Taiwan.
  47. ^ "棒球、世足、亞運全看東森　2026三大賽事一起熱血" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). EBC News. January 17, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  48. ^ 吳政紘. "WBC》搞定了！ 愛爾達與緯來共同宣布將轉播WBC經典賽47場賽事" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). TSNA. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Yahoo! Taiwan.
  49. ^ "TEAM TAIWAN！WBC經典賽3/5-3/18鎖定台視 賽程一次看". TTV News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  50. ^ ELTA Sports (January 29, 2026). "本屆WBC轉播單位" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved February 8, 2026 – via Facebook.
  51. ^ "FOX Sports to Air 2026 World Baseball Classic, Including March 17 Championship". Fox Sports. October 7, 2025. Archived from the original on October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  52. ^ Cuts of Broadcasts at 2026 WBC Final game:
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