Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the world series. Shortly after that, Forbes published an article about the record-breaking global viewership that the world series amassed. The 11-inning Game 7 instant classic had over 51 million viewers across just the U.S., Canada, and Japan. There are a couple obvious reasons for the global viewership. First, the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Toronto Blue Jays, "Canada's team" because Canada has only one MLB team. On top of that, this was Toronto's first World Series appearance since 1993, so there was obviously a lot of excitement. Second, the Dodgers team is headlined by two Japanese superstars, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ohtani was the National League Championship Series MVP and Yamamoto was the World Series MVP. This most recent World Series is another sign of "America's pastime" growing its global presence, with the World Series being broadcast in 16 different languages across 203 countries.
The economic impact of the 2025 World Series is different from previous World Series because of the growing global reach. First, the surge in international viewership will directly boost the league's broadcast revenue, sponsorships, and merchandise sales. The international viewership also brings in a whole new range of sponsors, opening the door to Asian or Canadian companies sponsoring teams or the MLB. Before there were major markets in Japan and Canada, Japanese and Canadian companies might not have been interested in sponsoring MLB teams, but now that there is more interest in Japan and Canada, it makes a lot more sense. In Canada, the Blue Jays' playoff run generated viewership numbers that broke not only baseball records but all sports records, being the most watched Canadian sports event in over a decade. The short term effect of this will be increased local sponsorships, stadium attendance, and even regional tourism. It is important to note that the MLB has made some rule changes that have contributed to the leagues increased viewership. The MLB introduced a pitch clock, which knocked an average of 24 minutes off of every game. This makes games faster and more exciting for fans. All of this has led the Dodgers to become the first MLB to generate one billion dollars in revenue.
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the world series. Shortly after that, Forbes published an article about the record-breaking global viewership that the world series amassed. The 11-inning Game 7 instant classic had over 51 million viewers across just the U.S., Canada, and Japan. There are a couple obvious reasons for the...
This CNBC article, published last week, talks about how the U.S. federal government has just shut down. The shutdown started after Congress failed to reach an agreement on a funding bill before the deadline. The article goes on to talk about the immediate impacts on federal workers, disruptions to non-essential government services, and the...
This CNBC article from earlier today discusses how OpenAI CEO Sam Altman thinks that the artificial intelligence market might be in a bubble. Altman compared today's AI enthusiasm to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, where inflated valuations led to a market crash. Altman acknowledged the revolutionary potential AI has, but cautioned that...