The exciting extended contest where the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51M watchers in the US, Canada, and Japan territories. MLB announced this marks the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup since the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase over the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-match series drew 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average was 16.1 million. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise over last year and the network’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
