Baseball’s — and Its TV Partners’ — Dream Scenario Is Upon Us

Fox couldn’t have scripted it any better.

Tonight, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in the best-of-seven World Series for the 12th time. But this one, their first meeting since 1981, will be “really special,” Michael Mulvihill, the head of Fox Sports’ research group, told IndieWire.

The Yankees and Dodgers are “probably the two most historic brands in the sport,” he said. They also represent the top 2 media markets in America — and for Yankees fans, no rings since 2009 is weird and unacceptable. Fox is salivating at the viewership potential.

One slugger on each roster is especially adding to their respective franchise’s history. The 6’7″ Aaron Judge, the Yankees captain who led baseball with 58 homers this year, is literally the biggest star in the game. Figuratively, it’s the same deal. Judge is a generational talent who would have no peer if it wasn’t for Shohei Ohtani, who just may end up being the best baseball import of all time.

For a comp to Judge vs. Ohtani on this stage, Mulvihill says “you probably have to look outside baseball.” The Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson NBA Finals of the ’80s are “the closest thing in my lifetime,” he said.

Ohtani is huge here, but his star power is off the charts in Japan. This is Ohtani’s first trip to the MLB Playoffs, and his home country has not missed an opportunity to cheer on its icon — even though his primetime games here air at 9 a.m. there. (Mulvihill can’t wait to see what Game 1 does in Japan: 8 p.m. ET on Friday here is 9 a.m. on a Saturday there.)

Game 5 of the National League Championship Series drew 12.9 million viewers in Japan, a record. Simple math tells us that more than 10 percent of Japan’s entire population tuned in to the game.

“This postseason is finally really putting the ‘world’ in World Series,” Mulvihill said. “Baseball is really staking its claim as a global game.”

So the question is: How big can this series be?

“Certainly we are expecting a sharp improvement over last year,” Mulvihill said, referring to the record-low Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks series, which averaged about 9 million (U.S.) viewers for each of its five games.

You’d better be. Those teams lacked the megastars and the history: The Diamondbacks only formed in 1998, and the Rangers, formerly the Washington Senators, relocated to Arlington in 1971. And forget international appeal, they barely have national appeal: Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix are fine, but they’re no New York and L.A.

“I think it will be a multi-year high, and then it’s just a question of a five-year high? Or a six- or a seven-year high?,” Mulvihill said. “Are we going to be able to do the best numbers since [the] Cubs World Series (win)?”

That 2016 Cubs win, snapping a 108-year championship drought, averaged 22.8 million total (U.S.) viewers per game — the most in a decade. It sure helped that Game 7 alone topped 40 million viewers.

The more competitive the series the better. More games equals more drama, and Game 7s are crucial — when there is no tomorrow, casual fans hop on the bandwagon and tip the charts.

Come to think of it, you know what would be even better than seven games?

“I wish it were a Best-of-15,” Mulvihill joked. “It can’t go on long enough.”

The 2024 World Series begins Friday, October 25 at 8:08 p.m. ET on Fox.