The exciting extended matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined over 50 million watchers across the US, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the previous week.
It additionally is the top-rated World Series game since the 2017 Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% improvement compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game series averaged 15.71 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two consecutive seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total US viewership reached 16.1M. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million viewers, an 8% rise over last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different languages.
