More individuals tuned in to the seventh and decisive game of the 2025 World Series compared to any contest since the 1991 Fall Classic. This game amassed an audience of 51 million viewers spanning across the United States, Canada, and Japan. As a whole, the entirety of the World Series achieved the highest global viewership since 1992, marking a 19% increase from the previous season. This same Game 7 attracted approximately twice the number of viewers in the United States as Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
In the current climate, and outside of football, that’s a remarkable achievement.
Indeed, those involved with NFL and college football, who often criticize other sports regarding viewership figures, your point is well understood. Your sports are the undisputed leaders in American sports. You hold a dominant position. That is acknowledged. I am also a dedicated football fan, and I have no issues with more people watching it. There is ample opportunity to celebrate achievements in other sports too.
It’s essential to recognize that the 2025 World Series, featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays, was a significant triumph for Major League Baseball.
Unless your role is that of a network executive, TV ratings might not be your primary concern. However, these figures offer insights into baseball beyond mere viewership numbers.
A prominent argument against MLB at present centers on player salaries. The Dodgers, who secured their status as repeat champions for the first time since 2000, maintained the highest payroll in baseball. The implication is that if a team simply “buys” a championship – which, incidentally, is never a straightforward matter – fans will lose interest in the sport. In this viewpoint, it is crucial for the league to control expenditure to win back fans who have stopped watching.
Furthermore, you may encounter assertions such as, “it’s always the same teams!” The Blue Jays had not participated in the World Series since 1993. Last year’s runners-up, the Yankees, had not done so since 2009. The 2023 World Series showcased a team achieving its first-ever World Series victory against a team that had not appeared since 2001.
Therefore, that argument doesn’t hold up. Now, the conversation reverts to the notion that “nobody cares because it’s unfair without a salary cap.”
Yet, the statistics themselves are compelling, aren’t they? Not only did the Dodgers secure the World Series title with the highest payroll in baseball, but they also achieved repeat champion status, with 51 million viewers witnessing their Game 7 victory.
Were viewers tuning in to support the Dodgers’ opponents? That’s a possibility.
Does the motivation behind viewership matter, or is it solely the act of watching that holds significance?
Once again, the underlying premise of the pro-salary cap argument is that the product is deficient without it, leading to viewer disengagement. People purportedly want to see underdogs, not big-spending teams. However, the Dodgers and Blue Jays (who, incidentally, had the fifth-highest payroll in MLB) attracted more viewers than any series in over three decades.
The more people watch, the more revenue is generated for the league. This is a business. From this vantage point, the league has just concluded its most lucrative World Series since at least 1992. Considering the current media landscape with its multitude of viewing options across various platforms, one might even argue that it was the most profitable World Series ever? It’s hard to say for sure.
Here’s what I do know: The argument that “MLB requires a salary cap to maintain fan interest” falters significantly in light of these numbers. To illustrate, do you genuinely believe a Brewers-Rays World Series would have generated similar viewership?
This sets the stage for an intriguing discussion point for the ownership side during the next CBA negotiations, scheduled for the upcoming offseason. We are aware that players are strongly opposed to a salary cap, while owners generally favor it. I concur that the vast payroll disparity between the Dodgers and the lower-ranked teams is unjust. However, I believe the solution lies in increased spending by the lower-tier teams.
Revenue sharing is already in place. The wealthiest teams are allocating funds to the “less wealthy” teams (although none of them are truly poor).
With the league collectively observing the level of interest generated by this World Series compared to a year such as 2023, it will be interesting to witness the developments on the ownership front. Their affinity for generating revenue is well-established. Will they genuinely seek to disrupt what has just transpired to placate some of the most frugal owners? Or will they instruct the penny-pinching owners to begin spending the money they receive from the deep-pocketed teams?
Regardless, the assertion that “baseball is dying” or “no one is watching” due to the absence of a salary cap has been thoroughly debunked. The 51 million viewers provide ample reason to develop a new argument.
