The exciting 11-inning contest where the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japan territories. Major League Baseball stated this represents the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series matchup since the 2017 edition final game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6M viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series recorded 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded audience increases for two straight years.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total American average reached over 16 million. The total World Series viewership in Japan was 9.7 million 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% increase over the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason performance after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
