MLB says 25 million viewed Dodgers-Cubs opener in Japan, or 20 percent of the population
Major League Baseball announced the viewership numbers for the Opening Day game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs Tuesday. They are staggering.
According to the league, the Dodgers' 4-1 victory drew in 25 million viewers across all platforms — a record audience for a baseball game in Japan, and approximately 20 percent of the country's population.
Game 1 of the 2025 Tokyo Series presented by Guggenheim averaged more than 25 million viewers across all platforms making it the most-watched @MLB game ever in Japan. pic.twitter.com/dKyFP8T3qH
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) March 19, 2025
Game 1 of the 2024 Seoul Series was the previous high, according to MLB, with 18.7 million viewers.
A 2019 game between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's in Tokyo marked the last time MLB visited Japan for a regular season game. According to the league, that game drew 5.6 million viewers across all platforms.
The two-game Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs had something the A's and Mariners did not: Shohei Ohtani.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star is arguably the most famous celebrity in Japan, as his reported$100 million endorsement portfolio attests.
Ohtani hit his first home run of the regular season in the Dodgers' win Wednesday morning, which began at 3 a.m. in Los Angeles and 7 p.m. in Tokyo. Viewership numbers for that game have not been announced.
As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted on Twitter/X, the last time an MLB broadcast attracted 25 million viewers in the U.S. was Game 7 of the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Houston Astros.
In Japan, 25 million viewers watched the Dodgers-Cubs season opener in Tokyo.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) March 19, 2025
The last time an MLB broadcast attracted 25 million viewers in the U.S.?
Game 7 of Dodgers-Astros World Series, in 2017.
Japan has about one-third the population of the U.S.
Although the Cubs boasted Japanese natives Shota Imanaga (who started the game) and Seiya Suzuki, the Dodgers' contingent led by Ohtani and starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a bigger attraction.
According to the Associated Press, Dodgers fans outnumbered Cubs fans 10 to 1 at the Tokyo Dome and, "on the sheer interest level, Ohtani was probably 60-70% of the draw in the sellouts, with the Cubs and Dodgers splitting the rest."
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