The exciting 11-inning matchup where the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a combined 51M spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. Major League Baseball reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
The Saturday epic contest averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total American average reached 16.1M. The total World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff performance after 2017.
MLB stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 various languages.
