Fall Classic Final Game Draws Over 50 Million Viewers In the US, Canadian and Japan Markets.
The thrilling 11-inning matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined over 50 million viewers in the United States, Canada, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this is the most-watched World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest secured over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated World Series game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This represents a sixteen percent improvement over the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked fourth, Game 4 was seventh, the fifth game came in 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth place.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game averaged 11.6M viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it attracted 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – averaged 13.1M spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-game World Series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two consecutive years.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the total US average reached 16.1 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7M and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise over the previous year and the network’s best playoff performance since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.