The first two games of this season’s World Series drew a combined 29.7 million average viewers in the US and Japan. (MLB)

The first two games of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, the league’s best-of-seven championship series, drew a combined 29.7 million average viewers in the US and Japan.

Game two averaged 15.9 million viewers in Japan, the most-watched MLB postseason game ever in the country, while game one averaged 14.4 million, which ranks second.

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The second game, which saw the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead in the series, also ranked second for the most-watched MLB game in Japan, behind the first game of the 2024 season for the Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea, which drew 18.7 million average viewers and aired live in primetime.

The first two games had an average viewership of 15.15 million in Japan, where the World Series is being distributed via Fuji TV, NHK BS, and J Sports.

The Dodgers are on the cusp of winning their eighth World Series and first since 2020 after taking a 3-0 series lead last night.

The record viewing numbers come with the presence of Dodgers’ Japanese star Shohei Ohtani having significantly increased the franchise's appeal in the country. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is another Japanese player on the team.

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Over the last year, Japanese brands such as THK (whose deal with the LA franchise is worth an estimated annual $1.5 million), Afeela, Yakult, the Kinoshita Group, and Tsukiji Gindaco have partnered with the Dodgers.

The opening two matches also registered a 93% increase in viewership within the 18-34 year-old audience group in the US compared to last year’s edition, the largest increase of any demographic group. 

Additionally, MLB’s social media platforms have registered the most views and engagements in World Series history. 

Through the first two games, MLB’s social channels registered more than 345 million views, a 229% increase versus 2023, and 25 million engagements, 225% up on 2023’s numbers.

The 2023 MLB World Series was the least-watched edition since TV viewership records began.

The series, which saw the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks four games to one, averaged 9.11 million viewers with a 4.7 rating.

Of the series’ five games, only the title-clinching game five managed not to set a record low for equivalent World Series games, drawing 11.45 million viewers, more than the current record low for the 2020 game five.