The thrilling extra-inning clash that saw the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate over 50 million viewers in the US, Canada, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 contest between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
The Saturday epic contest drew over 27 million audience members on Fox channels, its Spanish-language channel and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which averaged over 29 million. This marks a 16% increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Nationals and Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 ranked fourth, the fourth game was 7th, the fifth game was eighth, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the climactic game averaged over 11 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language program in the country since the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding game began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one run in six innings – recorded over 13 million viewers, making it the most-watched Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Series Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the initial instance after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership increases for two consecutive years.
Including the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the complete US average was 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 drew 8.09M watchers, an eight percent rise compared to last year and Fox’s best playoff ratings since 2017.
MLB announced that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 countries and territories by forty-four media partners in 16 various tongues.
