The nail-biting extended contest that saw the Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million watchers across the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game drew over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched World Series game after the 2017 edition final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the previous finale between the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, the fifth game came in 8th, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Patterns
The full seven-game World Series averaged 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average reached 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew over 8 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to the previous year and the network’s best playoff performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.
