The thrilling extended contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays by one run attracted a total over 50 million viewers in the US, Canadian, and Japanese markets. MLB stated this is the most-watched World Series Game 7 after the 1991 edition contest between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Ratings Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest drew over 27 million viewers on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and their streaming platforms. Per ratings data, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It also stands as the most-watched World Series game since the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a 16% increase over the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19M.
In the Nielsen ratings, Game 6 placed 4th, the fourth game ranked 7th, Game 5 was 8th, and Game 3 landed in thirteenth place.
International Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game averaged over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game started at 9 PM local time, it averaged 12M. This came after the previous Friday’s Game 6 – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six innings – recorded 13.1 million spectators, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match series recorded over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers versus Yankees matchup. This represents the first time after 2015 and ‘16 that the Fall Classic has seen audience growth for two straight years.
Including the opening game telecast on Univision, the total American average was 16.1 million. The total World Series average in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The full MLB Postseason on Fox, FS1 and FS2 recorded over 8 million viewers, an 8% rise compared to last year and the network’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball announced that the Fall Classic was televised in over 200 nations and regions by forty-four media partners in 16 different tongues.
