Now more than ever, there is a great possibility that more official Major League Baseball games will be played in Japan, which could happen as early as next year and perhaps even become a fixed tradition, after the Asian country demonstrated the effervescence and attraction they feel for this type of game.
The Tokyo Series last week delivered dominant television ratings, according to MLB, who confirmed that the season-opening game on Tuesday morning between the Dodgers and Cubs attracted more than 25 million Japanese viewers.
MLB leaves the NBA far behind
With that figure, the Dogers opening game against the Cubs became the most watched game in Japan history.
Taking into account that the population of the “Land of the Rising Sun” is around 120 million, this means that one in five people watched the game, while more than 43,000 watched it live in the stadium with almost no one reselling their tickets. This is something the NBA has not achieved and can only dream of such figures.
Tokyo series with 5 Japanese MLB players
To put the Tokyo opener into perspective, the more than 25 million Japanese viewers on Tuesday made it the most-watched MLB game since Game 7 of the 2017 World Series (when the Astros beat the Dodgers). Since 2019, the annual overseas game has grown by more than 19 million viewers.
The 2024 NBA Playoffs averaged just 4.5 million viewers on ABC, ESPN and TNT, while the highest peak of the NBA Finals came during part of Game 5, when 13.2 million tuned in
The fact that Japan had 25 million people watching a regular season game shows how much the NBA has declined
The Tokyo Series in Japan was essentially like an All-Star Game for all in attendance, whereas here in the United States, NBA stars such as LeBron James wait until the last minute to announce to fans that they will not participate in the All-Star Game.
The biggest concern about MLB’s Tokyo games is that they are held at 4 a.m. on the East Coast of the United States. If they really want to expand and bring more MLB teams to Japan, they will have to make the game schedule more favorable for those watching from the United States. Something tells me that those more than 25 million Japanese viewers will still tune in to the game, regardless of what time it is played in Tokyo.
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