Home Run: Blue Jays’ season finale a ratings hit

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ regular-season finale — a 13-4 rout that clinched the division title — was a ratings home run for domestic rights-holder Sportsnet.

Toronto’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday averaged 2.36 million viewers on television and via streaming, Sportsnet said, making it the network’s most-watched Blue Jays regular-season broadcast ever.

Alejandro Kirk homered twice as the Blue Jays secured the American League East crown for the first time since 2015.

Related Videos

20:50
Global National: Sept. 27

Previous Video

Next Video

The previous viewership high of 2.07 million was set during the final game of the 2016 regular season, a network spokesperson said Tuesday in a text message.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The Blue Jays earned a bye to the AL Division Series with the win. They will play the winner of the wild-card series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Game 1 in the best-of-five ALDS is scheduled for Saturday at Rogers Centre.

Sportsnet said the average audience for the full season was 906,800 viewers per game, a jump of 51 per cent from the 2024 campaign.

The 18-34 age demographic rose 32 per cent from last season, and female viewership jumped 46 per cent, the network said.

The Blue Jays finished last in the AL East in 2024 with a 74-88 record.

Toronto made the playoffs on three occasions between 2020 and ’23, but was swept in the wild-card round each time.

The Blue Jays haven’t won a post-season game since reaching the AL Championship Series for the second straight year in 2016.

Toronto won World Series titles in 1992 and ’93.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.