The exciting extra-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51M watchers across the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series matchup after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English broadcast in Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has seen audience increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The overall World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged 8.09M watchers, an eight percent increase over the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different languages.
