To get an idea of just how much more popular the NFL is than every other major North American professional sports league, look no further than the Week 8 ‘Monday Night Football’ contest against Game 3 of the World Series.
If there’s a time for MLB to top the NFL in the ratings for a single day, it’s the World Series, especially when it involves two star-studded teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, with superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Even though Game 3 of the 2025 Fall Classic went all the way to 18 innings, this thriller was no match for the Kansas City Chiefs-Washington Commanders ‘Monday Night Football’ game in the ratings battle.
Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, ESPN announced that the Chiefs’ 28-7 victory over Washington garnered 17.6 million viewers. In contrast, Game 3 of the World Series had 11.4 million viewers, peaking at 13.4 million.
Smith noted that Game 3 of last year’s Fall Classic between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees had 13.6 million viewers, barely edging out the Pittsburgh Steelers-New York Giants ‘MNF’ game that had 13.4 million viewers.
Indeed, the NFL is still the king.
World Series Ratings Have Still Been Strong This Year
Although the NFL is still undoubtedly far more popular than MLB in the United States, its World Series ratings are not suffering. With no head-to-head competition against the NFL since Monday, viewership has been sky-high across Canada and the United States.
MLB announced that Game 3 averaged 17.62 million viewers across both nations, a 27 percent jump from last year. Through the first three games, the U.S. and Canada averaged 18.73 million, a significant 25 percent increase from the 2024 World Series.
As the Dodgers are the defending World Series champions, it’s understandable if general interest in the Fall Classic isn’t as high in the U.S. this year. Of course, it’s a much different story up north with Canada’s only MLB team in the big dance.
