The thrilling extra-inning clash where the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a combined 51 million spectators in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. Major League Baseball stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Television Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox Sports networks, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per Nielsen, it was the second most-watched broadcast of the week.
It also stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase over the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was seventh, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language program in Canada since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the final game began at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This followed last Friday’s Game 6 – where World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The full seven-game World Series recorded 15.71M viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership increases for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on the Univision network, the total US average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7M and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings after the 2017 season.
MLB announced that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
