The thrilling extended matchup that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a combined 51 million spectators across the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB announced this is the highest-rated Fall Classic Game 7 after the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s epic game averaged over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports channels, Fox Deportes and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent improvement over the last finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game ranked 4th, Game 4 was seventh, Game 5 came in eighth, and the third game landed in 13th place.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded 11.6 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest began at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million viewers. This came after the previous Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – averaged over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated World Series game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series drew 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This marks the initial instance since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has seen viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the complete US viewership reached 16.1 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an eight percent rise over last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since the 2017 season.
MLB stated that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen different tongues.
