Yankees-Dodgers World Series features superstars, historic franchises in what could be ratings bonanza

The New York Yankees will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in this year’s World Series, and over the last 50 games their record is 25-25 when facing one another. Craig Carton, Danny Parkins, Mark Schlereth, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred discuss the...

The 2024 World Series on FOX between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers has the makings to be the highest-rated Fall Classic in years.

The Athletic and Forbes called it a "dream" matchup for FOX Sports, while Baseball America speculated the World Series could exceed the viewership of the NBA Finals. 

World Series ratings have trended downward in recent years in the era of streaming services and options beyond typical television fare, and the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks was the lowest ever with an average of 9 million viewers. 

But baseball fans have surged toward matchups with intriguing storylines; for instance, the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians had an average viewership of 22.8 million as the Cubs won their first championship in over 100 years, and Game 7 had a whopping 40 million viewers. That marked a huge increase over the 2015 New York Mets-Kansas City Royals series (average viewership of 14.5 million).

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The 120th Fall Classic between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers begins Friday at 8:08 p.m. ET on FOX.  (IMAGN/Getty Images)

The 120th Fall Classic arrives on the heels of the National League Championship Series on FOX and FS1 attracting its largest audience since 2019. 

The Yankees and Dodgers are not only two of baseball's most storied franchises, they also represent the country's