The thrilling extended contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million spectators in the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
Global Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game averaged 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American viewership reached over 16 million. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million watchers, an eight percent rise over last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
