The nail-biting 11-inning matchup where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by one run drew a aggregate 51M spectators in the United States, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated World Series finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Details
Last Saturday’s epic game secured 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also is the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 edition Game 7 involving the Dodgers and Astros, which averaged 29.07M. This marks a 16% increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million viewers.
In the weekly rankings, the sixth game placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 finished in thirteenth position.
International Viewership Figures
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English-language broadcast in Canada after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 p.m. local time, it drew 12 million viewers. This came after last Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – averaged 13.1 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series matchup on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series drew over 15.7 million viewers on Fox, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the Game 1 broadcast on the Univision network, the complete US average was 16.1M. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels drew over 8 million viewers, an eight percent increase compared to the previous year and the network’s best postseason performance since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by 44 media partners in 16 different tongues.
