(Bloomberg) -- The New York Yankees’ game-five victory over the Cleveland Guardians in MLB’s American League Championship Series attracted a TV audience of 5.6 million viewers, up 33% from the comparable game a year ago.
The Oct. 19 clincher was broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and carried on its TBS, truTV and Max outlets. It was the most-watched Game 5 since 2018, the company said Monday.
With the Los Angeles Dodgers clinching the National League Pennant Sunday over the New York Mets, baseball fans will get the first Dodgers-Yankees World Series since 1981, when LA won four games to two. The historic franchises have met 11 times in the World Series, the most of any two teams. The Yankees have won seven of those matchups, the most recent in 1978.
The series will feature two of the three biggest payrolls in Major League Baseball competing in the country’s two biggest media markets. The Yankees began the season with player salaries totaling $303.3 million, according to USA Today, while the Dodgers were at $249.8 million. The Mets led the majors at $305.6 million.
Those payrolls bring with them big-name stars that are typical of Dodgers-Yankees contests. The Dodgers are led by Japanese slugger-pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who finished the regular season batting .310 with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge hit 58 home runs in the regular season with a .322 batting average.
The best-of-seven series starts Oct. 25 and will be broadcast by Fox.
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