The exciting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a combined 51 million watchers across the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 contest featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic contest averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the last finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it attracted 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete American viewership was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the World Series was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.
