Sports
Brewers’ First World Series Title Highlights Low TV Ratings Amid Small‑Market Matchup
The 2026 Major League Baseball World Series ended on October 28 with the Milwaukee Brewers defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4–1 in Game 5 to claim the franchise’s first championship. The series, which ran from October 23 to 28, was the first World Series in 35 years to feature two of the league’s smallest payrolls, with the Brewers at 19th ($146 million) and the Rays at 28th ($95 million). Milwaukee’s payroll is the lowest in MLB and the team is the smallest market club, while the Rays sit in the league’s middle range.
Viewership for the series averaged 11.82 million across the Fox network. Game 3, Milwaukee’s 10–1 win in Tampa, drew the lowest audience of 8.33 million, whereas Game 5, which sealed the title, attracted the highest viewership of 14.22 million. These numbers are below the 15.49 million and 15.1 million viewers that watched the 2025 and 2024 World Series, both won by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2026 World Series also lagged behind other major U.S. sports. The NBA Finals that year averaged 20.58 million viewers, with Game 5 drawing 24.54 million and peaking at 33 million. The 2026 FIFA World Cup match between Spain and Argentina averaged 62.8 million viewers across Fox and Telemundo. The NFL’s Super Bowl LX drew 125.6 million viewers, while the 2026 Stanley Cup final averaged 5.2 million viewers.
Earlier in 2026, MLB had planned to host two games in London at the London Stadium on June 13 and 14, featuring the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. The event was cancelled because the venue could not be converted to a baseball field after a Premier League match on May 24, and because Fox had no available broadcast slots during the FIFA World Cup. MLB has previously played games abroad in Japan, Australia, and Mexico, and is also developing grassroots programs in India.
Other U.S. leagues continue to expand internationally: the NFL hosts regular‑season games in London, Munich, Madrid, São Paulo, and Mexico City, and added matches in Melbourne last month; the NBA plays regular‑season and preseason games in Paris, Abu Dhabi, and Mexico City.