The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
The Saturday epic contest drew 27.33M audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game landed in 13th place.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in the country.
Overall Totals and Patterns
The full seven-game series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete US viewership reached over 16 million. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels averaged over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to last year and the network’s strongest playoff performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
