The nail-biting extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 drew a total 51M watchers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB announced this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday epic game averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series matchup since the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final 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 MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series averaged 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1 million. The overall World Series average in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09M viewers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
