The nail-biting 11-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a combined 51M spectators in the US, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday epic contest drew 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 final game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase over the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th place.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game averaged 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – drew 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Trends
The entire seven-game series drew over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game telecast on Univision, the complete US viewership reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M watchers, an 8% rise compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was broadcast in 203 countries and territories by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 various tongues.
