The exciting extended clash that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Blue Jays by one run averaged a total 51M spectators across the United States, Canada, and Japan markets. MLB reported this represents the most-watched World Series finale after the 1991 showdown featuring the Twins and Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable contest averaged 27.33M audience members on Fox channels, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. According to Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated program of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic matchup after the 2017 Game 7 involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew 29.07M. This represents a sixteen percent improvement compared to the previous finale between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million.
In the weekly rankings, Game 6 ranked 4th, the fourth game ranked seventh, Game 5 was 8th, and the third game landed in 13th place.
Global Viewership Numbers
In Canada, the game recorded over 11 million viewers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English program in Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final contest began at 9 PM local time, it drew 12M. This followed the previous Friday’s Game 6 – in which World Series MVP Yamamoto allowed one run in six frames – drew over 13 million spectators, making it the most-watched World Series game on a single network in the country.
Series Totals and Patterns
The entire seven-game series recorded 15.71 million viewers on the Fox network, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees series. This marks the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US viewership reached over 16 million. The total Fall Classic viewership in the Japanese market was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete playoffs on Fox, FS1 and FS2 averaged over 8 million viewers, an 8% increase over the previous year and the network’s best postseason ratings after 2017.
Major League Baseball reported that the World Series was televised in 203 countries and territories by 44 media partners in sixteen various tongues.
