Fox averaged 5.02 million viewers — the largest viewership number for any World Baseball Classic game in the event’s 20-year history — for Monday’s 5-3 U.S. victory over Mexico, the network announced Thursday.
It surpassed the previous record of 4.48 million average viewers for the 2023 WBC final, which saw Japan beat the U.S. 3-2.
The Mexico matchup was also a sizable jump in viewership from the first two United States games against Brazil and Great Britain, which drew 2.64 million and 2.98 million viewers, respectively.
With the U.S. advancing to the quarterfinals despite losing its pool-play finale to Italy, that viewership bump could quite possibly carry over to the knockout portion of the WBC. The majority of the 78 major league players who left spring training to compete for the countries are still in contention.
The U.S. will face Canada — which is making its first appearance in the WBC quarterfinals — Friday night, with South Korea and the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Italy, and Venezuela and Japan also facing off in the quarterfinal round.
The semifinals are set for Sunday and Monday, and the championship will be contested on Tuesday in Miami.
