The nail-biting extended matchup that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51 million viewers across the United States, Canada, and Japanese territories. MLB stated this is the most-watched Fall Classic Game 7 since the 1991 edition contest between the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
The Saturday memorable contest averaged over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous 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 16% increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Washington Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed 4th, Game 4 was 7th, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th position.
International Viewership Numbers
In the Canadian market, the climactic game recorded 11.6 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English-language program in the country after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12 million. This followed last Friday’s sixth game – in which Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a single network in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71M audience members on the Fox network, a 2% rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the World Series has recorded viewership increases for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the complete US average reached 16.1M. The total Fall Classic average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in sixteen different tongues.
