The thrilling 11-inning clash that saw the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 drew a aggregate 51 million spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB announced this is the highest-rated World Series Game 7 since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million audience members on Fox Sports networks, its Spanish-language channel and their digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the week.
It additionally is the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition final game involving the Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the previous finale featuring the Nationals and Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed fourth, Game 4 ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 finished in 13th position.
Global Audience Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports. This made it the most-watched English program in the country after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding game started at 9 PM local time, it drew 12 million. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six innings – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in Japan.
Series Averages and Patterns
The entire seven-match World Series recorded over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent increase from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the first time since 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience increases for two consecutive years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on Univision, the total American average reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The complete playoffs on Fox and its sister channels drew 8.09M viewers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason performance since 2017.
Major League Baseball announced that the World Series was broadcast in 203 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 various languages.
