The nail-biting 11-inning contest where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 averaged a aggregate over 50 million viewers across the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB reported this represents the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown between the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Details
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured 27.33M viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to ratings data, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It also stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game after the 2017 edition Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew 29.07 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase over the last Game 7 featuring the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19M.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 placed fourth, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game came in eighth, and Game 3 landed in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In Canada, the climactic game averaged over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the most-watched English program in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In the Japanese market, where the deciding contest started at 9 p.m. local time, it averaged 12 million. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which Fall Classic MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1M viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic matchup on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Overall Averages and Trends
The entire seven-match World Series averaged 15.71M viewers on Fox, a 2% rise from the previous year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game telecast on the Univision network, the total American average reached over 16 million. The total World Series viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in the Canadian market.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded 8.09 million watchers, an 8% rise compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason ratings since the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was televised in 203 nations and regions by forty-four broadcasting partners in sixteen various tongues.
