World Baseball Classic shatters first-round viewership record

Venezuela designated hitter Miguel Cabrera Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

World Baseball Classic draws over 1 million fans in first round, shattering previous record

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 3/17/23

Baseball fans around the world have spoken, and they love the World Baseball Classic. They have made their voices heard by filling stadiums at record levels and watching games in huge numbers.

The numbers have been so big that the WBC drew over one million fans in the first round, shattering the previous first-round record from 2017. It not only shattered it the record, it was a 98 percent increase from the 510,056 fans that attended that tournament's first round slate of games.

The games in Japan have been exceptionally popular, with the Pool B games behind held at the Tokyo Dome drawing more than 360,000 fans with an average attendance of over 36,000 per game. Bob Nightengale also notes that the games in Japan drew a 42.3 rating on TV, which is comparable to Super Bowl numbers in the United States.

The WBC drew record 1 million fans for 1st round of the tournament while Japan’s first round drew 42.3 TV rating, which is similar to Super Bowl ratings pic.twitter.com/N2bxaD0fxi
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 17, 2023

Keep in mind, those are only first round games. Not even the championship games.

This is why the tournament is going to continue on even if there is the occasional injury to a star player. The players themselves not only love it, but there is a ton of money to be made. The almighty dollar always speaks.

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