The thrilling 11-inning matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run averaged a aggregate 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% improvement over the last finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game drew 11.6M viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English broadcast in the country since 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 Game 6 – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – recorded 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in the country.
Series Totals and Trends
The full seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the complete US average was 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase over last year and the network’s strongest postseason performance after the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
