The nail-biting extended contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a total 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB stated this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6M watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American viewership was 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise over the previous year and the network’s strongest postseason performance after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
