The thrilling extended clash that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million watchers in the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Details
The Saturday epic game averaged over 27 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous Game 7 between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth place.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game drew 11.6M viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English broadcast in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-match series drew 15.71 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete US average reached 16.1M. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1M in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an 8% increase compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen different tongues.
