The thrilling extended contest that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement over the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – recorded over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series drew 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the total American viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise over last year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
