Dodgers-Yankees 2024 World Series TV Ratings Could Beat NBA Finals

Image credit:
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

There is no group happier to see the Yankees face the Dodgers in the World Series than Fox TV executives.

Both are large market teams with large fan bases. The return of the Yankees to the World Series for the first time in 15 seasons, in particular, will be ratings gold. While many baseball fans may feel less enamored with two large-revenue, large-market teams facing off in what is the first Dodgers-Yankees World Series in 43 years, from a television ratings perspective, this is a dream matchup.

A New York vs. Los Angeles matchup will almost assuredly boost ratings compared to the Rangers-Diamondbacks matchup last year that saw a record-low 9.1 million average viewers. Looking at recent ratings history, the inclusion of the Yankees after a 15-year absence could push the World Series to better ratings than what we’ve seen in several years, especially if the series goes to six or seven games.

It also could lead to the World Series drawing more viewers than the NBA Finals, something that hasn’t happened since 2021.

A Changing Media Landscape

There seems to be a widespread perception that the NBA Finals now draws significantly more viewers than the World Series. In reality, the two have traded ratings supremacy back and forth in recent years, with the NBA Finals having averaged about 1.13 million more viewers on average over the past decade. In the 21st century, the World Series has a 1.3 million viewer advantage on average.

When looking at the ratings data shared below, it’s important to remember that television ratings have been on a precipitous decline for the majority of the 21st century. Twenty-five years ago, there was no streaming or social media. Anyone who decides to check out YouTube, TikTok or Netflix instead of turning on cable TV, streaming TV (YouTubeTV, Sling, etc.) or over-the-air network TV nowadays is someone who won’t be appearing in the Nielsen ratings.

While television was no longer in the four-channel world of the 1970s by the time the 2000s rolled around, the top rated show of 2001 (Friends) still regularly drew 20+ million viewers a week and topped out at 35 million viewers for its finale. In more modern times, the top-rated scripted shows on broadcast TV in 2023 drew 10 million viewers. Drawing just six million viewers would rank among the top 30 shows in television.

Other than football, which has grown into a ratings monster that devours everything in its wake, every other type of programming, scripted or live, is battling for a much smaller share of eyeballs than were available 10 or 20 years ago.

MLB vs. NBA

When comparing the NBA and MLB’s championship series ratings, in recent years the NBA is ahead, but by relatively narrow margins.

The NBA had more viewers for its finals from 2017-2019 and in 2022 and 2023. MLB had more viewers in 2016, 2020 and 2021. If a Dodgers-Yankees’ matchup is outrated by the 2024 Celtics-Mavericks series, it’s likely a sign that the NBA has left MLB behind in ratings. But if this year’s World Series draws more, it will be the third time in the past five years that the World Series has outdrawn the NBA finals.

Both the World Series and the NBA Finals ratings are somewhat matchup dependent. The dominance and star power of LeBron James during the 2010s was wonderful for NBA Finals ratings. The last 10 NBA finals with James involved have drawn an average of 16.1 million viewers. Comparatively, the last 10 NBA finals without James involved drew an average of 13.4 million viewers.

World Series ratings seem less focused on star players than they are dependent on the teams involved. The best viewership of a 21st century World Series came when the Red Sox ended their 86-year-long championship drought against the Cardinals in 2004. The second-best viewership came during the Diamondbacks’ win over the Yankees in 2001 while the third-best was fore the Cubs’ 2016 World Series win over the Indians, which ended an even-longer World Series title drought for another one of the game’s marquee franchises.

The Yankees’ appearance in 2009 drew more than five million more viewers than had tuned into the 2008 World Series and more than five million more than would tune into the 2010 World Series a year later.

The steady decline of television ratings in general makes it hard to truly single out how much matchups (and lengths of series) play in ratings, but here are the averages for the 21st century:

The invaluable Sports Media Watch provided some of the numbers used in this story.