MLB's Tokyo Opening Day Absolutely Destroys NBA With Incredible Rating

Don't look now, but you can expect more Major League Baseball games to be played in Japan next year and beyond after this past week's dominant Tokyo Series television ratings came in.

According to MLB, Tuesday morning's opening season game between the Dodgers and Cubs brought in over 25 million Japanese viewers, making it the most-watched game in Japanese history. With a population of about 120 million, that means 1 in 5 people watched the game, while over 43,000 saw it live with hardly anyone reselling their tickets.

Do you want to know who is not putting up numbers like that? 

The NBA.

5 JAPANESE MLB PLAYERS PLAYED IN THE TOKYO SERIES

To put the Tokyo Opener in perspective, Tuesday's 25+ million Japanese viewers made it the most-watched MLB game since Game 7 of the 2017 World Series (when the Astros beat the Dodgers). Since 2019, the annual overseas game has grown by more than 19 million viewers. 

Meanwhile, the NBA? Not so great. Shocking, I know. 

The 2024 NBA playoffs averaged just 4.5 million viewers on ABC, ESPN and TNT, while the largest peak of the NBA Finals came during a portion of the final Game 5 when 13.2 million tuned in. The fact that Japan had 25 million people alone watching a regular season game shows just how much the NBA has fallen. Japan's Tokyo Series was essentially like an All-Star Game for everyone in attendance, while over here in the United States, NBA stars like LeBron James wait till the last minute to tell fans they are sitting out the All-Star Game.

The biggest concern about the MLB Tokyo Games is the fact that it takes place at 4am on the East Coast here in the States. If they want to truly expand and bring more MLB teams to Japan, they are going to have to make the game time more favorable for those watching stateside.

Something tells me those 25+ million Japanese viewers will still be tuning in, regardless of whatever time the game is played in Tokyo!