The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the World Series, notching back-to-back championships after a fierce battle against the Toronto Blue Jays that came down to a Game 7 that went 11 innings on Saturday night in Toronto.
The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4, making them the first Major League Baseball team to win back-to-back championships since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. The Blue Jays had been angling for their first World Series victory since 1993.
The victory came after a hard fought seesaw of a Fall Classic that proved the Dodgers and Blue Jays were evenly matched in the fight for Commissioner’s Trophy. The games have been a big showcase for Dodgers stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and they have delivered big crowds for Fox, although not as big as last year’s series between the Dodgers and New York Yankees. Will Smith delivered the winning home run at the top of the 11th.
The Blue Jays prevailed in Game 1 at home with an 11-4 decisive win. The Dodgers came back to win Game 2 in Toronto (5-1) and Game 3 (6-5) at home. Game 3 turned out to be an epic 18-inning battle. Then the Blue Jays then rallied to win Game 4 (6-2) and Game 5 (6-1) in Los Angeles. The Dodgers then topped the Blue Jays in Game 6 (3-1).
Through the first five games, the World Series has averaged 12.5 million viewers for Fox linear network, Fox Sports streaming and Fox Deportes. Game 5, held on on Halloween night, rose to 14.6 million viewers, with a peak audience of 16 million in the final 15 minutes.
Last year’s contest between the Dodgers and Yankees, however, had more heft in the nation’s largest TV market even though that series only went five games. Through Game 5 in 2024, the average viewership was 15.8 million. This year’s five-game average is the second-highest since 2018, per Fox Sports.
The draw of a Game 7 — aka “the two best words in sports” — was also a lure for Hollywood marketers with titles that need to reach looking to reach broad audiences. Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” ran high profile teaser spots during the game, as did Disney’s “Zootopia 2” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things 5.”
The 2025 World Series delivered a number of standout moments for Dodgers superstars. Ohtani pitched the first two and a half innings of Game 7 and also delivered big home runs in the clutch in earlier games. Freeman ended the wild 18-inning game with a walk-off home run that only made him more beloved to Dodger fans. Betts provided the winning runs in Game 6. And outfielder Kiké Hernández had an impressive, game-saving double play in Game 6.
The last team to win back-to-back MLB championships was the Yankees, who racked up three consecutive wins in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Before that, the Blue Jays logged wins in 1992 and 1993.
variety.com
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