The nail-biting 11-inning contest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome the Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a combined 51M viewers across the US, Canadian, and Japanese territories. MLB reported this marks the most-watched Fall Classic finale since the 1991 edition showdown featuring the Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Broadcast Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game drew 27.33 million audience members on Fox networks, its Spanish-language channel and their streaming platforms. According to Nielsen, it was the second most-watched program of the week.
It additionally stands as the most-watched Fall Classic game since the 2017 final game involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros, which drew over 29 million. This represents a sixteen percent increase compared to the last Game 7 between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros, which attracted 23.19 million.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game ranked 4th, the fourth game was 7th, Game 5 came in 8th, and the third game finished in thirteenth position.
Global Audience Figures
In the Canadian market, the game drew 11.6 million watchers on Sportsnet and the French TVA Sports channel. This was the highest-rated English-language program in Canada after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the deciding contest began at 9 p.m. local time, it attracted 12 million viewers. This followed the previous Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yamamoto allowed a single run in six frames – drew over 13 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Fall Classic game on a sole broadcaster in the country.
Overall Totals and Trends
The full seven-match series averaged over 15.7 million audience members on Fox, a two percent rise from last year’s Dodgers-Yankees matchup. This marks the initial instance after 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has seen viewership growth for two straight seasons.
Including the Game 1 telecast on the Univision network, the total US average reached over 16 million. The total World Series average 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 8.09 million viewers, an 8% increase compared to last year and Fox’s best postseason ratings after the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball reported that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 different tongues.
