World Baseball Classic broadcast

Broadcast

Sport24 secured the rights for international in-flight and cruise ship travel.

Territory Rights holder(s) Ref.
Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania ESPN
Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland Sportdigital
Brazil ESPN and Disney+
Canada Sportsnet (English)
TVA Sports (French)
Caribbean ESPN and Disney+
China BesTV [zh], Douyin, MIGU, Tencent Video, Fujian TV, and Youku
Colombia Caracol HD2, Ditu
Cuba Tele Rebelde
Czech Republic Czech Television
Dominican Republic VTV 32, Tele Antillas, and Coral 39 [es]
France beIN Sports
Hungary Sport1
Ireland and United Kingdom TNT Sports
Israel Sports 5
Italy and San Marino Sky Sport Italy and RAI 2/RAI Sport
Japan Netflix
Nippon Hoso, Bunka Hōsō, and Radiko (Audio Only)
South Korea TVING, tvN/tvN Sports, KBS, SBS, and MBC
Latin America ESPN and Disney+
1 Baseball Network [es]
Macau and Southeast Asia SPOTV
MENA beIN Sports
Mexico TelevisaUnivision and ESPN
Netherlands ESPN
Nicaragua Viva Nicaragua
Panama RPC and TV Max
Puerto Rico WAPA Deportes
Sub-Saharan Africa ESPN and Disney+
Taiwan ELTA [zh], EBC, TTV, and Videoland
Turkey S Sport [tr]
United States Fox Sports (English)
Fox Deportes (Spanish)
Venezuela Televen, IVC, ByM Sport and Venevisión.

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, about 840,000 people watched the WBC games through ČT, marking a significant milestone as the country's first-ever live terrestrial broadcast of baseball.

Italy and San Marino

In Italy, the 2026 WBC sparked an unprecedented baseball boom, culminating in a historic milestone where over 7 million viewers watched the semifinal match against Venezuela.

Japan

The Japan v. South Korea game averaged 62 million viewers in Japan.

In Japan, Netflix acquired the exclusive rights to the tournament for an estimated 15 billion yen. As another workaround, some karaoke parlors enabled the ability for patrons to sign into the Netflix app in their private booths, so that they could watch the tournament with their friends.

World Baseball Classic television ratings in Japanese archipelago showing network(s) broadcast on and average viewership, 2023
Classic Date
Network(s) Avg. viewers(Millions) Rating Share
Quarterfinals Mar 16,
2023		 TBS
TV Asahi		 38.16 48.0 Unknown
Game 2 Mar 10,
2023		 29.86 44.4 Unknown
Game 4 Mar 12,
2023		 34.25 43.2 Unknown
Game 3 Mar 11,
2023		 34.25 43.1 Unknown
Semifinals Mar 20,
2023		 27.02 42.5 Unknown
Finals Mar 22,
2023		 27.61 42.4 Unknown
Game 1 Mar 9,
2023		 28.56 41.9 Unknown

South Korea

The Korean rating in that game was the second-most-watched WBC game in South Korea, after the 2009 Japan-South Korea final.

Latin America

The broadcasters in Venezuela were a pool of TV channels, that included: ESPN/Disney+, 1Baseball Network, Televen, IVC, ByM Sport and Venevisión.

In Puerto Rico, the final was the most watched sporting event for the past year with nearly three-fourths of all households tuning in.

In Latin America, a first-round game between the United States and Mexico, was the third-most-watched game in the history of ESPN Dos, one of the three Spanish-language channels of ESPN in Latin America.

Table based on 2026 Classic

Territory Rights holder(s) Ref.
Caribbean ESPN and Disney+
Colombia Caracol HD2, Ditu
Cuba Tele Rebelde
Dominican Republic VTV 32, Tele Antillas, and Coral 39 [es]
Latin America ESPN and Disney+
1 Baseball Network [es]
Mexico TelevisaUnivision and ESPN
Nicaragua Viva Nicaragua
Panama RPC and TV Max
Puerto Rico WAPA Deportes
United States Fox Deportes (Spanish)
Venezuela Televen, IVC, ByM Sport and Venevisión.

Taiwan

Territory Rights holder(s) Ref.
Taiwan Eleven Sports/PTS
ELTA [zh], EBC, TTV, and Videoland

United States

The WBC championship game was televised in the United States on Fox in English and on Fox Deportes in Spanish. Play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and color analyst John Smoltz called the English language broadcast of the games for Fox, and were joined by Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci as field reporters. The game averaged 10.8 million viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes combined, peaking at 12.1 million during the later stages of the game.

Most watched World Baseball Classic games in the United States

Rank Date Matchup Network Viewers (millions) Round
1 Tuesday, March 17, 2026 Venezuela Venezuela 3 United States United States 2 Fox

Fox Deportes

 10.87 Final
2 Sunday, March 15, 2026 United States United States 2 Dominican Republic Dominican Republic 1 Fox Sports 1
Fox Deportes		 7.37 Semifinal
3 Monday, March 9, 2026 United States United States 5 Mexico Mexico 3 Fox
Fox Deportes		 5.02 Group Play
4 Tuesday, March 21, 2023 Japan Japan 3 United States United States 2 4.97 Final
5 Friday, March 13, 2026 United States United States 5 Canada Canada 3 4.30 Quarterfinal
6 Wednesday, March 22, 2017 United States United States 8 Puerto Rico Puerto Rico 0 MLB Network
ESPN2
ESPN Deportes		 3.05 Final
7 Saturday, March 7, 2026 United States United States 9 United Kingdom Great Britain 1 Fox
Fox Deportes		 2.98 Pool Play
8 Sunday, March 22, 2009 Japan Japan 9 United States United States 4 ESPN
ESPN Deportes		 2.95 Semifinal
9 Saturday, March 14, 2026 Venezuela Venezuela 8 Japan Japan 5 Fox
Fox Deportes		 2.80 Quarterfinal
10 Friday, March 6, 2026 United States United States 15 Brazil Brazil 5 2.69 Pool Play

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Colombia games only
  2. ↑ Colombia games only
  3. ↑ all Japan games
  4. ↑ one quarterfinal, one semifinal, and the final
  5. ↑ except Mexico
  6. ↑ All Mexico games, one semifinal, and the final on Canal 5, Nueve, or ViX
  7. ↑ Official broadcasters; for CHT MOD and OTT (ELTA.tv and Hami Video)
  8. ↑ Terrestrial and cable TV broadcast only
  9. ↑ Colombia games only
  10. ↑ Colombia games only
  11. ↑ except Mexico
  12. ↑ All Mexico games, one semifinal, and the final on Canal 5, Nueve, or ViX
  13. ↑ Cable TV broadcast only
  14. ↑ Official broadcasters; for CHT MOD and OTT (ELTA.tv and Hami Video)
  15. ↑ Terrestrial and cable TV broadcast only

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Where to Watch | World Baseball Classic 2026". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Ab dem 5. März dürfen wir für euch den World Baseball Classic übertragen! Auf Sportdigital1+ zeigen wir euch ausgewählte Spiele der in Japan, den USA und Puerto Rico stattfindenden Gruppenphase sowie die komplette K.o.-Phase! Im Stream auf Sportdigital und in der Sportdigital+-App gibt es insgesamt über 40 Spiele zu sehen. Natürlich werden auch so viele Spiele wie möglich auf Deutsch kommentiert, unsere" [Starting March 5, we will be broadcasting the World Baseball Classic for you! On Sportdigital1+, we will be showing selected games from the group stage taking place in Japan, the USA, and Puerto Rico, as well as the entire knockout stage! A total of over 40 games will be available to watch via stream on Sportdigital and in the Sportdigital+ app. Of course, as many games as possible will be commentated on in German.]. instagram.com. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  3. ↑ Staff, Sportsnet (January 29, 2026). "Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez to pitch for Cuba at World Baseball Classic". Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026. The World Baseball Classic is back for its sixth edition, running from March 5-17 in Miami, Houston, San Juan and Tokyo. Catch all the action on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
  4. ↑ "Dónde ver los partidos de Colombia en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol; hora y TV, EN VIVO". Gol Caracol. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "World Baseball Classic se vrací na obrazovky ČT Sport!". ČT Sport. January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via Instagram.
  6. ↑ MIRABAL, FRANKLIN (December 2, 2025). "Grupo Panorama presenta cadena de transmisión del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol". Impacto Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  7. ↑ "RAI Sport will broadcast Italy's upcoming games and the Final of the World Baseball Classic". Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball. Archived from the original on March 11, 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  8. ↑ "Importante cambio di programmazione per la diretta della sfida tra Messico-Italia di questa notte del World Baseball Classic. La partita sarà infatti trasmessa in diretta anche su Rai 2 a partire dalle ore 00.40.
    Questa la programmazione completa della sfida decisiva per il passaggio al secondo turno del torneo:
    𝐑𝐚𝐢 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 (canale 58 del Digitale Terrestre): dalle 23.50 di mercoledì 11 marzo alle 00.40 di giovedì 12 marzo;
    𝐑𝐚𝐢 𝟐: dalle 00.40 di giovedì 12 marzo.
    La partita sarà trasmessa integralmente anche su 𝐒𝐤𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐱 (ch.206 del bouquet di Sky) dalle ore 00.00 di giovedì 12 marzo"     [Important programming change for the live broadcast of tonight's Mexico–Italy game at the WBC.
    The game will also be broadcast live on Rai 2, starting at 12:40 a.m.
    Rai Sport (Channel 58 on Digital Terrestrial): from 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 to 12:40 a.m. Thursday, March 12
    Rai 2: from 12:40 a.m. Thursday, March 12
    The game will also be broadcast in full on Sky Sport Max (Channel 206 on the Sky platform) starting at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, March 12.]. FIBS – via Facebook.
  9. ↑ "World Baseball Classic Inc. and Netflix Announce Exclusive Partnership for 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan". About Netflix. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  10. ↑ "6大会連続でのWBC生中継が実現！「ニッポン放送ショウアップナイタースペシャル 2026 ワールドベースボールクラシック実況中継」 | radiko news(ラジコニュース)". news.radiko.jp (in Japanese). December 10, 2025. Archived from the original on December 22, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  11. ↑ "CJ ENM, 2026 월드 베이스볼 클래식(WBC) 중계권 체결! 다각화된 스포츠 콘텐츠 전략 이어간다". CJ Newsroom (in Korean). December 17, 2025. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved December 31, 2025. '2026 WBC(World Baseball Classic)'는 디지털에선 TVING 독점으로 전경기가 생중계되며, TV는 지상파 3사와 계열 스포츠채널, 그리고 tvN SPORTS 채널에서 중계될 예정으로 세부적인 방송계획은 논의 중에 있다. [The 2026 World Baseball Classic will be exclusively live-streamed on TVING for all games. Broadcasts on TV will be available on the three major FTA (SBS, KBS and MBC), their affiliated sports channels, and tvN SPORTS.]
  12. ↑ RAÍZ (December 31, 2025). "Televisa tendrá el Clásico Mundial de Beisbol en México". Marca México (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  13. ↑ "TelevisaUnivision ofrecerá toda la emoción de la Major League Baseball". Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  14. ↑ "¡La pasión y la emoción del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 se vive por Viva Nicaragua - Canal 13!". Viva Nicaragua. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via instagram.
  15. ↑ "Wapa Deportes revalida como canal oficial y exclusivo del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 en PR". WAPA.TV (in Spanish). July 9, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  16. ↑ 謝文哲 (January 13, 2026). "愛爾達取得世界棒球經典賽轉播權 61場資格賽、正賽全都包" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Mirror Media. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Yahoo! Taiwan.
  17. ↑ "棒球、世足、亞運全看東森　2026三大賽事一起熱血" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). EBC News. January 17, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  18. ↑ 吳政紘. "WBC》搞定了！ 愛爾達與緯來共同宣布將轉播WBC經典賽47場賽事" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). TSNA. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Yahoo! Taiwan.
  19. ↑ "TEAM TAIWAN！WBC經典賽3/5-3/18鎖定台視 賽程一次看". TTV News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  20. ↑ ELTA Sports (January 29, 2026). "本屆WBC轉播單位" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved February 8, 2026 – via Facebook.
  21. ↑ "FOX Sports to Air 2026 World Baseball Classic, Including March 17 Championship". Fox Sports. October 7, 2025. Archived from the original on October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  22. ↑ Cuts of Broadcasts at 2026 WBC Final game:
  23. ↑ "母国84万人が勇姿に夢中！ チェコ"史上初の野球中継"の視聴者数が話題に。世界大会での躍動に話題は尽きず【WBC】". THE DIGEST (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  24. ↑ "March Madness, World Baseball Classic earn strong viewership: Sports on TV". Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  25. ↑ "Netflix's exclusive WBC broadcasting deal in Japan draws mixed reactions". Japan Today. 2026-03-14. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  26. ↑ Takahara, Kanako (2026-03-04). "Netflix deal shuts out Japan's sports bars from freely showing WBC". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
  27. ↑ "【WBC】日本―イタリア戦、全国推計視聴人数6258万人！視聴率はテレ朝歴代２位を記録". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 17, 2023. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023.
  28. ↑ "侍WBC 伊戦視聴率48％！野球歴代1位「10・8決戦」48・8％に肉薄 祝日21日の準決勝にも期待". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 18, 2023. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023.
  29. ↑ "最強侍ジャパンに列島熱狂！視聴率４戦すべて４０％超え 韓国戦がＷＢＣ歴代１位、０６年決勝上回る". sanspo.com. March 14, 2023.
  30. ↑ "WBC視聴率、40%超続々 佐々木先発のチェコ戦は岩手62.6%". asahi.com. March 13, 2023.
  31. 1 2 "WBCチェコ戦・オーストラリア戦 それぞれ推計約6000万人が視聴 全国の日本人がテレビに釘付けに62.6%". sponichi.co.jp. March 13, 2023.
  32. 1 2 "WBC視聴率、40%超続々 佐々木先発のチェコ戦は岩手62.6%". asahi.com. March 18, 2023.
  33. 1 2 "Wbc日本戦全7試合 全国で推計9446.2万人が視聴".
  34. ↑ "日本×メキシコ戦の視聴率は４２・５％…再編集した夜の緊急特番は１９・８％". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 22, 2023. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023.
  35. ↑ "侍ジャパン世界一、決勝・米国戦の視聴率は４２・４％ 全７試合４０％超え／ＷＢＣ". sanspo.com. March 23, 2023.
  36. ↑ "TBS放送の侍ジャパン中国戦「全国視聴者人数」6000万人超62.6%". news.yahoo.co.jp. March 10, 2023. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023.
  37. ↑ "日本快勝発進の中国戦、視聴率は４１・９％…歴代ＷＢＣでは０６年決勝に続く２位62.6%". yomiuri.co.jp. March 10, 2023.
  38. ↑ McCarthy, Michael (March 17, 2023). "World Baseball Classic Setting Records For Viewership, Attendance". Front Office Sports.
  39. ↑ Cuts of Broadcasts on the final out:
  40. ↑ Busfield, Steve (March 20, 2013). "Unbeaten Dominican Republic claim World Baseball Classic title". The Guardian. London. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  41. ↑ "To D.R., WBC title means everything". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  42. ↑ "Dónde ver los partidos de Colombia en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol; hora y TV, EN VIVO". Gol Caracol. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  43. ↑ MIRABAL, FRANKLIN (December 2, 2025). "Grupo Panorama presenta cadena de transmisión del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol". Impacto Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  44. ↑ RAÍZ (December 31, 2025). "Televisa tendrá el Clásico Mundial de Beisbol en México". Marca México (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  45. ↑ "TelevisaUnivision ofrecerá toda la emoción de la Major League Baseball". Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  46. ↑ "¡La pasión y la emoción del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 se vive por Viva Nicaragua - Canal 13!". Viva Nicaragua. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026 – via instagram.
  47. ↑ "Wapa Deportes revalida como canal oficial y exclusivo del Clásico Mundial de Béisbol 2026 en PR". WAPA.TV (in Spanish). July 9, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  48. ↑ "FOX Sports to Air 2026 World Baseball Classic, Including March 17 Championship". Fox Sports. October 7, 2025. Archived from the original on October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
  49. ↑ Cuts of Broadcasts at 2026 WBC Final game:
  50. ↑ "Where to Watch the 2023 World Baseball Classic". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  51. ↑ "有線電視獨家！東森電視轉播WBC經典賽 最強播報陣容曝光". EBC News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). December 28, 2022. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  52. ↑ ELTA Technology (December 27, 2022). "2023 WBC世界棒球經典賽 MOD、Hami Video、愛爾達新媒體獨家全場次轉播". Yahoo! Taiwan (Press release) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  53. ↑ 謝文哲 (January 13, 2026). "愛爾達取得世界棒球經典賽轉播權 61場資格賽、正賽全都包" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Mirror Media. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Yahoo! Taiwan.
  54. ↑ "棒球、世足、亞運全看東森　2026三大賽事一起熱血" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). EBC News. January 17, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  55. ↑ 吳政紘. "WBC》搞定了！ 愛爾達與緯來共同宣布將轉播WBC經典賽47場賽事" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). TSNA. Retrieved January 29, 2026 – via Yahoo! Taiwan.
  56. ↑ "TEAM TAIWAN！WBC經典賽3/5-3/18鎖定台視 賽程一次看". TTV News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  57. ↑ ELTA Sports (January 29, 2026). "本屆WBC轉播單位" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved February 8, 2026 – via Facebook.
  58. ↑ "2026 World Baseball Classic games to be broadcast on FOX Sports in U.S." MLB.com. October 7, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  59. ↑ Curtis, Charles (March 17, 2026). "USA vs. Venezuela WBC announcers on Fox: Who are they?". Sports News. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  60. ↑ "A legendary game calls for a legendary viewership number as 10,784,000 viewers watched the #WorldBaseballClassic final on FOX and FOX Deportes - the most-watched #WBC telecast ever". Fox Sports. March 19, 2026. Retrieved on March 19, 2026.