The thrilling extended clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined 51 million spectators in the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this represents the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game drew 27.33 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the previous week.
It also is the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the previous Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Audience Figures
In Canada, the climactic game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the highest-rated English-language program in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12 million. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a single network in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match World Series drew over 15.7 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete American average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M viewers, an eight percent rise over last year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was televised in over 200 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 various languages.
