The exciting 11-inning clash that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run attracted a aggregate 51 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this represents the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 final game involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged 29.07 million. This marks a 16% increase over the last finale between the Washington Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game landed in thirteenth position.
International Audience Numbers
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This made it the most-watched English-language program in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game started at 9 PM in the local time zone, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yamamoto gave up a single run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated World Series matchup on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-match World Series averaged over 15.7 million viewers on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the World Series has recorded viewership growth for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average was over 16 million. The overall World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1M in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels averaged 8.09M watchers, an eight percent rise over last year and the network’s strongest playoff performance after 2017.
MLB reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 different languages.
